vendetta

Pronunciation

• IPA: /vɛnˈdɛtə/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian vendetta (“revenge, blood feud”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Latin vindicta (“vengeance, revenge”).^{[2][3][4][5][6]} It is related to vindictive and vindication.^[2][4][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A hereditary family blood feud, as customary in Corsica and parts of Italy (1846 in Etymonline;^[4] 1855 in the OED, Barnhart and Merriam-Webster).^[7][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The word was soon applied to similar blood feuds in other communities (1861)^[7] and then to any prolonged and bitter feud or campaign of hostility, as in a political vendetta.^[2][5][6][1]

Timeline

• 1846 – a family blood feud, per Etymonline.^[4]
• 1855 – a Corsican or Italian blood feud.^[7][3][5]
• 1861 – a blood feud elsewhere.^[7]
• 1904 – vendettist.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A blood feud between families or clans, carried on by acts of revenge.
2. A prolonged, bitter feud or campaign of hostility.
3. A personal grudge against someone.

Word family

• vendettist

Related words

• vindictive
• vindicate

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press