feud English · revision 1521

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1300}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fjuːd/ ''(UK)''; /fjud/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|fede]], [[m|enm|feide|t=enmity, hostility]], with an altered spelling,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) [[bor|fro|fede]], [[m|fro|faide|t=war, hostility, vengeance]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from a Germanic source,^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) compare [[goh|fēhida|t=contention, quarrel]] ([[de|Fehde]]),^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) from [[gem-pro|*faihiþō]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) related to [[ang|fǣhþ|t=enmity]] and [[m|ang|fāh|t=hostile]] (see [[foe]]).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==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.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From about 1425 it meant a state of bitter and lasting mutual hostility,^(OED 1989) and since the 1580s a perpetual hostility between two families or clans, marked by killings in revenge.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) The word was adopted in standard English in the 16th century with the spelling ''feud''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Weekley 1921) The change is unexplained;^(Weekley 1921)^(Wiktionary) influence from the unrelated legal word ''feud'' “fief” (1614), from [[la-med|feudum]], has been suggested but is considered improbable.^(Wiktionary)^(Weekley 1921)^(OED 1989) The verb, to carry on a feud, dates from 1673.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1300 – hatred, enmity.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1425 – a state of lasting mutual hostility.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1582 – a hereditary vendetta between families.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1673 – verb.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A bitter, often prolonged quarrel or state of enmity, especially between two families or [[clan|alt=clans]]; a [[vendetta]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A bitter quarrel or dispute.^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To carry on a feud.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[feudist]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[blood feud]]

+ * [[foe]]

+ * [[vendetta]]

+ * [[feudal]]

+ * [[fief]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}