feud

[fyood]

noun

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

a bitter quarrel or contention: a feud between labor and management.

verb (used without object)

to engage in a feud.

Origin of feud

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, -th¹

Synonyms for feud

2. argument, difference.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for feuding

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

Examples from the Web for feuding

Contemporary Examples of feuding

The Miley tweet marked the peak of the hostilities, ushering in a social media silence between the two feuding celebs.
Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus Kiss, Break Up, Make Up
Amy Zimmerman
March 7, 2014
Donald Trump versus Bill Maher- they have been feuding for years.
George Zimmerman Wants to Profit Off Trayvon Martin’s Death
Dean Obeidallah
February 5, 2014
One suspect is the Pakistani Taliban, who have been feuding with the Haqqanis.
Hitmen Take Out Haqqani Network Bigwig Nasiruddin Haqqani
Ron Moreau
November 12, 2013
The agreement averted a ground invasion by Israeli troops, but left many tensions between the feuding neighbors unresolved.
New Survey: Israelis Do Not Feel They Benefited From Hamas Clash
Matthew DeLuca
November 30, 2012
New York courts are more likely to avoid granting joint custody in situations with feuding parents.
8 Reported Facts About the Cruise-Holmes Divorce
Nina Strochlic
July 1, 2012

Historical Examples of feuding

Perhaps they had come to join the Monaldeschi or the Filippeschi in their feuding.
The Saracen: Land of the Infidel
Robert Shea
I was sick of the feuding, the worries and the pettiness of the other nineteen aboard.
Let'em Breathe Space
Lester del Rey
I was told that the Durkees and Tatums had been feuding for years.
Whirligigs
O. Henry
If you leave enough men under his command, he will keep the feuding families under control.
The Saracen: The Holy War
Robert Shea
They might run afoul of bravos or some of the wild young men of Orvieto's feuding families.
The Saracen: Land of the Infidel
Robert Shea

British Dictionary definitions for feuding

feud

noun

long and bitter hostility between two families, clans, or individuals; vendetta

a quarrel or dispute

verb

(intr) to take part in or carry on a feud

Word Origin for feud

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

feud

feod

noun

feudal law land held in return for service

Word Origin for feud

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for feuding

feud

1670s, from feud (n.). Related: Feuded; feuding.

feud

c.1300, fede "enmity, hatred, hostility," northern English and Scottish; perhaps from an unrecorded Old English word or else from Old French fede, from Old High German fehida "contention, quarrel, feud," from Proto-Germanic *faihitha noun of state from adj. *faiho- (cf. Old English fæhð "enmity," fah "hostile;" German Fehde "feud;" Old Frisian feithe "enmity;" see foe). Sense of "vendetta" is early 15c. Alteration of spelling in 16c. is unexplained.