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fiend

/ˈfiːnd/ noun

In Latin: daemon Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about fiend at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. A cruel wicked and inhuman person.
  2. An evil supernatural being.
  3. A person motivated by irrational enthusiasm (as for a cause).
    A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject

Origin

From Middle English fend, feend (“enemy; demon”), from Old English fēond (“enemy”), Proto-West Germanic *fijand, from Proto-Germanic *fijandz. Cognates Cognate with Scots fient (“fiend”), Saterland Frisian Fäind (“enemy, fiend, foe”), Cimbrian faint (“enemy, fiend”), Dutch vijand (“enemy”), German Feind (“enemy, fiend, foe”), Vilamovian faeind, fajnd (“enemy”), Yiddish פֿײַנד (faynd), פֿײַנט (faynt, “enemy”), Danish fjende (“adversary, enemy, foe”), Icelandic fjandi (“enemy; fiend, demon, devil”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish fiende (“enemy”), Old Norse fjándi (“enemy; devil”), Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (fiands), 𐍆𐌹𐌾𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (fijands, “enemy, foe”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)