vendetta

[ven-det-uh]

noun

1. a private feud in which the members of the family of a murdered person seek to avenge the murder by killing the slayer or one of the slayer's relatives, especially such vengeance as once practiced in Corsica and parts of Italy.

2. any prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, contention, or the like.

   a political vendetta.

vendetta

/ vɛnˈdɛtə /

noun

1. a private feud, originally between Corsican or Sicilian families, in which the relatives of a murdered person seek vengeance by killing the murderer or some member of his family

2. any prolonged feud, quarrel, etc

Other Word Forms

• vendettist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of vendetta¹

First recorded in 1850–55; from Italian, from Latin vindicta “vengeance”; vindictive

Word History and Origins

Origin of vendetta¹

C19: from Italian, from Latin vindicta, from vindicāre to avenge; see _vindicate

Related Words

• bickering 
• grudge 
• hostility 
• quarrel 
• revenge 
• rivalry 
• squabble