feud

¹

[ fyood ]

noun

1. Also called blood feud. a bitter, continuous hostility, especially between two families, clans, etc., often lasting for many years or generations.
2. a bitter quarrel or contention:

   a feud between labor and management.

   Synonyms: difference, argument

verb (used without object)

1. to engage in a feud.

feud

²

[ fyood ]

noun

1. fee ( def 4 ).

feud

¹

/ fjuːd /

noun

1. feudal law land held in return for service

feud

²

/ fjuːd /

noun

1. long and bitter hostility between two families, clans, or individuals; vendetta
2. a quarrel or dispute

verb

1. intr to take part in or carry on a feud

Word History and Origins

Origin of feud¹

1300–50; variant of fead ( a misread as u ), Middle English fede < Middle French fe ( i ) de < Old High German fēhida; cognate with Old English fǣhth enmity. See foe, -th ¹

Origin of feud²

1605–15; < Medieval Latin feudum, variant of feodum. See fee

Word History and Origins

Origin of feud¹

C17: from Medieval Latin feodum , of Germanic origin; see fee

Origin of feud²

C13 fede , from Old French feide , from Old High German fēhida ; related to Old English fæhth hostility; see foe

Example Sentences

That feud has been settled, but the question it raised hasn’t.

From Voice of San Diego

In this era, Parliament further strengthened girls’ education and outlawed practices that were harmful to women, such as offering them as brides to settle feuds between two tribes or forcing widows to marry the brother of their deceased husband.

From No Straight News

The lawyer said Fox Hunt prosecutions often grow out of regional feuds, snaring relatively minor figures.

From ProPublica

The very public feud between the two brothers has made the unveiling a must-see.

From Ozy

In particular, a feud between Diesel and Johnson boiled over into headlines in 2016, when Johnson posted an Instagram about working on the films with someone unprofessional, who was widely assumed even at the time to be Diesel.

From Vox

The outcome of the rum feud is critical for both Bacardi and Pernod Ricard, because the winner could net billions in future sales.

From The Daily Beast

The Glock family feud gets messier with new court documents alleging that gun magnate Gaston had a detective follow his ex-wife.

From The Daily Beast

Years later, Scott would apologize for his role in the feud.

From The Daily Beast

Either way, the FSA-ISIS feud got worse after the McCain visit with the Northern Storm, which ISIS viewed as a heretical act.

From The Daily Beast

I'll give you $10,000, and you provide me with a platform to continue my feud, he implies.

From The Daily Beast

A border feud at Reedsquair, between the English and Scottish marchmen, in which the former were completely beaten.

From Project Gutenberg

So bitter was the feud that either would have borne cheerfully a loss to prevent the other from making a profit.

From Project Gutenberg

As Scattergood well knew, the feud had its inception in religion as religion is practiced in that community.

From Project Gutenberg

That evening Mrs. Hooper and Mrs. Pettybone, childhood friends, long separated by the feud, stopped to speak to Scattergood.

From Project Gutenberg

But they are a mere handful, quite insignificant, kept alive mainly by the Most and Peukert feud.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• altercation
• bad blood
• bickering
• conflict
• contest
• controversy
• disagreement
• discord
• dispute
• dissension
• enmity
• fight
• fracas
• hostility
• quarrel
• rivalry
• row
• run-in
• squabble
• strife