foe
[foh]
- a person who feels enmity, hatred, or malice toward another; enemy: a bitter foe.
- a military enemy; hostile army.
- a person belonging to a hostile army or nation.
- an opponent in a game or contest; adversary: a political foe.
- a person who is opposed in feeling, principle, etc., to something: a foe to progress in civil rights.
- a thing that is harmful to or destructive of something: Sloth is the foe of health.
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Origin of foe
before 900; Middle English foo, Old English fāh hostile, gefāh enemy; cognate with Old High German gifēh at war. See feud1
Synonyms
See more synonyms for foe on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
1–3. friend.
F.O.E.
- Fraternal Order of Eagles.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for foe
Contemporary Examples
In geopolitics, the doctrine of mutually assured destruction prevents the use of weapons of mass destruction against a foe.
In a GOP runoff today, candidate T.J. Fabby has attacked his foe for accepting Muslim money.
How I Made Sure a Texas Tea Party Candidate Accepted ‘Dirty’ Muslim MoneyDean Obeidallah
May 27, 2014
To a progressive, he is both friend and foe; both visionary and reactionary.
Which is how he and Johns made a living in their early days – as his foe Hilton Kramer liked to point out.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a foe of the industry, has been seated on the Senate banking committee.
Historical Examples
It contrasts "foe and friend," just as the sonnet contrasts "love and hate."
The Man ShakespeareFrank Harris
We are natural enemies; and when your foe is disabled, then is the time to strike.
Stories from ThucydidesH. L. Havell
By this time, the first of August, we knew more about the foe we were to meet.
In the ValleyHarold Frederic
They lie at the mercy of every foe, of every passion, of every change.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. IFrancis Augustus Cox
You were friendless, and the man who has all earth for a foe befriends you.
Night and Morning, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
foe
- formal, or literary another word for enemy
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Word Origin
Old English fāh hostile; related to Old High German fēhan to hate, Old Norse feikn dreadful; see feud 1
FoE
FOE
- Friends of the Earth
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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 foe
n.
Old English gefa "foe, enemy, adversary in a blood feud" (the prefix denotes "mutuality"), from fah "at feud, hostile," from Proto-Germanic *fakhaz (cf. Old High German fehan "to hate," Gothic faih "deception"), probably from PIE root *peig- "evil-minded, treacherous, hostile" (cf. Sanskrit pisunah "malicious," picacah "demon;" Greek pikros "bitter;" Lithuanian piktas "wicked, angry," pekti "to blame"). Weaker sense of "adversary" is first recorded c.1600.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper