Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Opponent

Op·po′nent (·nent), a. [L. opponens, -entis, p. pr. of opponere to set or place against, to oppose; ob (see Ob-) + ponere to place. See Position.] Situated in front; opposite; hence, opposing; adverse; antagonistic. Pope.

Op·po′nent, n. 1. One who opposes; an adversary; an antagonist; a foe. Macaulay.

2. One who opposes in a disputation, argument, or other verbal controversy; specifically, one who attacks some theirs or proposition, in distinction from the respondent, or defendant, who maintains it.

How becomingly does Philopolis exercise his office, and seasonably commit the opponent with the respondent, like a long-practiced moderator! Dr. H. More.

Syn. — Antagonist; opposer; foe. See Adversary.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty.