Fiend

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fiːnd/
• Rhymes: -iːnd

Alternative forms

• fend

Origin

From Middle English feend ("enemy, demon"), from Old English fēond ("enemy"), from Proto-Germanic *fijandz. Cognate with Old Norse fjándi (Icelandic fjandi, Danish fjende, Swedish fiende), West Frisian fijân, Low German Feend, Fiend, Dutch vijand, German Feind, Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌾𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃, all of them meaning foe. The Old Norse and Gothic terms are present participles of the corresponding verbs fjá/fijan, to hate. Akin to Sanskrit पियति (piyati, "(he) reviles").

Full definition of fiend

Noun

1. (obsolete) An enemy, unfriend, or foe.
2. (religious, archaic) The enemy of mankind, specifically, the Devil; Satan.
• 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society 2012, p. 35:At the confirmation ceremony the bishop would lay his hands on the child and tie around its forehead a linen band …. This was believed to strengthen him against the assaults of the fiend ….
3. A devil or demon; a malignant or diabolical being; an evil spirit.
• 1845, E.A. Poe, "The Raven""Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!"
4. A very evil person
5. (informal) An addict or fanatica jazz fiend

Derived terms

• fienddom/fiendom
• fiendful
• fiendhood
• fiendish
• fiendkin
• fiendlike
• fiendling
• fiendly
• fiendness
• fiendship
• dope fiend

Synonyms

• monster

Anagrams

• finde
• fined
• indef