*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of feud

Inherited from Northern Middle English fede, feide, from Old French faide, feide, fede, from Proto-West Germanic *faihiþu (“hatred, enmity”) (corresponding to foe + -th), from Proto-Indo-European *peyḱ- (“hostile”). Cogn

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
verb

To carry on a feud.

noun

A state of long-standing mutual hostility. · A staged rivalry between wrestlers. · A combination of kindred to avenge injuries or affronts, done or offered to any of their blood, on the offender and all his race.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Inherited from Northern Middle English fede, feide, from Old French faide, feide, fede, from Proto-West Germanic *faihiþu (“hatred, enmity”) (corresponding to foe + -th), from Proto-Indo-European *peyḱ- (“hostile”). Cognate to Old English fǣhþ, fǣhþu, fǣhþo (“hostility, enmity, violence, revenge, vendetta”), German Fehde, and Dutch vete (“feud”) (directly inherited from Proto-West Germanic) alongside Danish fejde (“feud, enmity, hostility, war”) and Swedish fejd (“feud, controversy, quarrel, strife”) (borrowed from Middle Low German).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Root classification mention*peyḱ-ine-pro
  • Derivation mentionfaidefro
  • Derivation mention*faihiþugmw-pro · hatred, enmity
  • Derivation mention*peyḱ-ine-pro · hostile
  • Cognate mentionfǣhþang
  • Cognate mentionFehdede
  • Cognate mentionvetenl
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*peyḱ-",
        "id": "hostile"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "yesno",
      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "i",
        "3": "I"
      },
      "expansion": "I"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "Inherited"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited"
    },
    {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm-nor",
        "3": "fede",
        "4": "",
        "5": "",
        "lit": "",
        "pos": "",
        "tr": "",
        "ts": "",
        "id": "",
        "sc": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "nocat": "",
        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Northern Middle English fede"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm-nor",
        "3": "fede"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited from Northern Middle English fede"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "faide"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French faide"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*faihiþu",
        "t": "hatred, enmity"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *faihiþu (“hatred, enmity”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "suf",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "foe",
        "3": "th",
        "nocat": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "foe + -th"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*peyḱ-",
        "t": "hostile",
        "id": "hostile"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *peyḱ- (“hostile”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "fǣhþ"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English fǣhþ"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Fehde"
      },
      "expansion": "German Fehde"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "vete",
        "3": "",
        "4": "feud"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch vete (“feud”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gml",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "fede",
      "fede#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "feide",
      "feide#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "faide",
      "faide#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "feide",
      "feide#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "fede",
      "fede#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "*faihiþu",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/faihiþu"
    ],
    [
      "foe",
      "foe#English"
    ],
    [
      "-th",
      "-th#English"
    ],
    [
      "*peyḱ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/peyḱ-#Proto-Indo-European:_hostile"
    ],
    [
      "fǣhþ",
      "fæhþ#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "fǣhþu",
      "fæhþu#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "fǣhþo",
      "fæhþo#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "Fehde",
      "Fehde#German"
    ],
    [
      "vete",
      "vete#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "fejde",
      "fejde#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "fejd",
      "fejd#Swedish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To carry on a feud."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ],
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      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical",
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

An estate granted to a vassal by a feudal lord in exchange for service.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Medieval Latin feudum. Doublet of fee, fief, and feoff.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*peḱ- (livestock)"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-med",
        "3": "feudum"
      },
      "expansion": "Medieval Latin feudum"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fee",
        "3": "fief",
        "4": "feoff"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of fee, fief, and feoff"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "feudum",
      "feudum#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "fee",
      "fee#English"
    ],
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      "fief#English"
    ],
    [
      "feoff",
      "feoff#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for feud →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-ZmV1ZA