Defoid languages

{{Short description|Proposed branch of the Benue–Congo language family}}

{{Infobox language family

|name=Defoid

|acceptance=

|region=Nigeria, Benin and Togo

|familycolor=Niger-Congo

|fam2=Atlantic–Congo

|fam3=Volta–Congo

|fam4=Benue-Congo

|child1=Yoruboid

|protoname=Proto-Defoid{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bC9tDwAAQBAJ&q=proto+defoid&pg=PA78|title=The numeral system of Proto-Niger-Congo: A step-by-step reconstruction|isbn=9783961100989|last1=Pozdniakov|first1=Konstantin|date=31 August 2018}}

|child2=Akoko

|child3=Ayere-Ahan

|glotto=defo1239

|glottorefname=Defoid

}}

The Defoid languages are a proposed branch of the Benue–Congo language family. The name of the group derives from the fact that nearly all of the ethnic groups who speak member languages refer to the city of Ilé Ifè as their place of origin: "Defoid" comes from èdè ('language') + ifè (Ife) + -oid. It was first proposed by Capo (1989),{{cite book |last=Capo |first=H. B. C. |year=1989 |chapter=Defoid |editor=Bendor-Samuel, J. |title=The Niger-Congo Languages: A classification and description of Africa's largest language family |location=Lanham |publisher=University Press of America |pages=275–290}} but evidence for it is still regarded as insufficient by Güldemann (2018).{{Cite book|title=The Languages and Linguistics of Africa|last=Güldemann|first=Tom|editor-last=Güldemann|editor-first=Tom|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|chapter=Historical linguistics and genealogical language classification in Africa|year=2018|edition=|isbn=978-3-11-042606-9|doi=10.1515/9783110421668-002|location=Berlin|pages=58–444|series=The World of Linguistics series|volume=11 |quote= Capo’s (1989a) claim about a larger Defoid family including [Yoruboid,] Owon-Arigidi and Ayere-Ahan remains doubtful because of the insufficient empirical support provided for this hypothesis (p. 168).}}

The Defoid language group consists of three branches, Yoruboid, Akoko and Ayere-Ahan.