Feid

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A prolonged and bitter hostility or quarrel between two families, clans or groups, often passed down through generations
2. An old, deep-rooted enmity or bloody dispute carried on between families or clans over many years
3. Long-standing hatred and conflict between rival households or communities, especially in older Scottish and northern usage

Etymology: Scots "feid" is a noun for a feud, a lasting hostility between families or clans that passed from one generation to the next. Its spelling reflects its French ancestry more closely than standard English does. It comes from Old French "faide", which was borrowed from a Germanic source behind the Frankish language and linked to Old English "fāhþ", meaning enmity or hostility. English took the same stock of words twice: "feud" came into standard English, while the Scots form kept a spelling that stayed nearer its French origin. The two are doublets, and the Scots version is still used in Scotland.

Synonyms: feud