fie
[fahy]
- (used to express mild disgust, disapprobation, annoyance, etc.)
- (used to express the humorous pretense of being shocked.)
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Origin of fie
1250–1300; Middle English fi < Middle French < Latin; compare Old Norse fȳ, Latin phy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for fie
Contemporary Examples
Fie on frustrated feminists: If you are an Orthodox woman, you can have it all.
The new movie Anonymous says Shakespeare was a fraud and has literary scholars screaming “Fie!”
Historical Examples
Fie had collected twenty-four of us, whom he called his 'disciples,' and shamed am I to say, I was one.
Ned MyersJames Fenimore Cooper
No cat ever dreaded water so much as she does: fie upon her!
The Memoirs of Count Grammont, CompleteAnthony Hamilton
"Fie for shame, Captain Jacques," said Mary, with pious horror.
The O'DonoghueCharles James Lever
Fie on thee, John, to take a poor maid at her word so shortly.
Standish of StandishJane G. Austin
And Bianca, she too said, "Fie, what foolish duty call you this?"
Tales from ShakespeareCharles Lamb and Mary Lamb
fie
- obsolete, or facetious an exclamation of distaste or mock dismay
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French fi, from Latin fī, exclamation of disgust
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for fie
interj.
late 13c., possibly from Old French fi, exclamation of disapproval, and reinforced by a Scandinavian form (cf. Old Norse fy); it's a general sound of disgust that seems to have developed independently in many languages.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper