feud

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fjuːd/ (UK); /fjud/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English fede, feide (“enmity, hostility”), with an altered spelling,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} borrowed from Old French fede, faide (“war, hostility, vengeance”),^[2][3][4][7] from a Germanic source,^[2][4][6] compare Old High German fēhida (“contention, quarrel”) (German Fehde),^[3][4][8] from Proto-Germanic *faihiþō,^[3][4][6] related to Old English fǣhþ (“enmity”) and fāh (“hostile”) (see foe).^[3][4][5][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Active hatred, enmity or hostility (before 1300 in the OED; before 1325 in Barnhart; about 1300 in Etymonline), at first a northern English and Scottish word.^[9][3][4][6]

Semantic evolution

From about 1425 it meant a state of bitter and lasting mutual hostility,^[9] and since the 1580s a perpetual hostility between two families or clans, marked by killings in revenge.^[9][10] The word was adopted in standard English in the 16th century with the spelling feud.^[3][11] The change is unexplained;^[11][1] influence from the unrelated legal word feud “fief” (1614), from Medieval Latin feudum, has been suggested but is considered improbable.^[1][11][9] The verb, to carry on a feud, dates from 1673.^[9][4]

Timeline

• before 1300 – hatred, enmity.^[9]
• c. 1425 – a state of lasting mutual hostility.^[9]
• 1582 – a hereditary vendetta between families.^[9]
• 1673 – verb.^[9][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A bitter, often prolonged quarrel or state of enmity, especially between two families or clans; a vendetta.
2. A bitter quarrel or dispute.

Verb

1. To carry on a feud.

Word family

• feudist

Related words

• blood feud
• foe
• vendetta
• feudal
• fief

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
11. ^ a b c Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray