feud

¹

[ fyood ]

noun

1. Also called blood feud. a bitter, continuous hostility, especially between two families, clans, etc., often lasting for many years or generations.
2. a bitter quarrel or contention:

   a feud between labor and management.

   Synonyms: difference, argument

verb (used without object)

1. to engage in a feud.

feud

²

[ fyood ]

noun

1. fee ( def 4 ).

feud

¹

/ fjuːd /

noun

1. feudal law land held in return for service

feud

²

/ fjuːd /

noun

1. long and bitter hostility between two families, clans, or individuals; vendetta
2. a quarrel or dispute

verb

1. intr to take part in or carry on a feud

Word History and Origins

Origin of feud¹

1300–50; variant of fead ( a misread as u ), Middle English fede < Middle French fe ( i ) de < Old High German fēhida; cognate with Old English fǣhth enmity. See foe, -th ¹

Origin of feud²

1605–15; < Medieval Latin feudum, variant of feodum. See fee

Word History and Origins

Origin of feud¹

C17: from Medieval Latin feodum , of Germanic origin; see fee

Origin of feud²

C13 fede , from Old French feide , from Old High German fēhida ; related to Old English fæhth hostility; see foe

Example Sentences

Her portrayal in “Till” was preceded by 2019’s “The Devil to Pay,” a drama set in the Appalachian Mountains in which she played Lemon Cassidy, a mother who fights to protect her young son after she winds up in the middle of a blood feud between two warring families.

From Los Angeles Times

California reached a milestone Friday in its ongoing legal feud with President Trump when Atty.

From Los Angeles Times

There's no end in sight for Meghan McCain's bitter feud with "The View" years after her disgruntled departure.

From Salon

Connor Chapman fired a sub-machine gun outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village in Wirral, as part of a gang feud on Christmas Eve 2022.

From BBC

DeRozan told reporters at the time that he still considered Drake a friend, and compared the feud to a spectacle along the lines of Michael Jordan facing Kobe Bryant one-on-one.

From BBC

Related Words

• altercation
• bad blood
• bickering
• conflict
• contest
• controversy
• disagreement
• discord
• dispute
• dissension
• enmity
• fight
• fracas
• hostility
• quarrel
• rivalry
• row
• run-in
• squabble
• strife