Strif

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Bitter conflict, quarrelling, or discord between people, groups, or nations that often involves open hostility
2. A state of heated dispute and contention in which individuals or communities are set against one another
3. Angry or violent disagreement that divides people and breeds ongoing hostility between opposing sides

Etymology: "Strif" is an older spelling of "strife," the word for bitter conflict or quarrelling. It came into English in the Middle English period, borrowed from Old French "estrif," which had itself been taken from a Germanic source. The same root appears in Old Norse "strīð" and Old High German "strīt," so the word belongs to a family of Germanic words for struggle and combat. Spellings with a final "-e" and the modern form gradually displaced "strif," which now survives mainly in older texts and in deliberate archaism. The change was a matter of spelling. The word's meaning of contention and discord stayed the same throughout.

Synonyms: strife, conflict, discord, dissension, friction

Antonyms: peace, harmony, concord, accord