Nearby Words
noun
1.
Satan; the devil.
2.
any evil spirit; demon.
3.
a diabolically cruel or wicked person.
4.
a person or thing that causes mischief or annoyance: Those children are little fiends.
5.
EXPANDInformal. a person who is extremely addicted to some pernicious habit: an opium fiend.
6.
Informal. a person who is excessively interested in some game, sport, etc.; fan; buff: a bridge fiend.
7.
COLLAPSEa person who is highly skilled or gifted in something: a fiend at languages.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English feend, Old English fēond; cognate with German Feind, Old Norse fjandr, Gothic fijands foe, orig. present participle of fijan to hate
before 900; Middle English feend, Old English fēond; cognate with German Feind, Old Norse fjandr, Gothic fijands foe, orig. present participle of fijan to hate
Related forms
fiend·like, adjective
un·der·fiend, noun
Synonyms
3. monster, savage, brute, beast, devil.
3. monster, savage, brute, beast, devil.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Fiends
is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
fiend
O.E. feond "enemy, foe," originally prp. of feogan "to hate," from P.Gmc. *fijæjan (cf. O.N. fjandi, O.H.G. fiant, Goth. fijands, like the O.E. word all prp. forms), from PIE base *pei-/*pi- "to blame, revile" (cf. Goth. faian "to blame;" see passion). As spelling
EXPAND suggests, it was originally the opposite of friend, but the word began to be used in O.E. for "Satan" (as the "enemy of mankind"), which shifted its sense to "diabolical person" (c.1220). The old sense of the word devolved to foe, then to the borrowed enemy. For spelling with -ie- see field. Meaning "devotee (of whatever is indicated)," cf. dope fiend, is from 1865.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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