foe

Meaning

Synonyms

Translations

Notes

Extra tools

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/fəʊ/

Inherited from Middle English

Inherited from Old English

Cognate with Old Frisian

Cognate with Middle High German

Cognate with Middle Irish

Cognate with Lithuanian

In summary

From Middle English fo (“foe; hostile”), from earlier ifo (“foe”), from Old English ġefāh (“enemy”), from fāh (“hostile”), from Proto-West Germanic *faih, from Proto-Germanic *faihaz (compare Old Frisian fāch (“punishable”), Middle High German gevēch (“feuder”)), from Proto-Indo-European *peyk/ḱ- (“to hate, be hostile”) (compare Middle Irish óech (“enemy, fiend”), Lithuanian pi̇̀ktas (“evil”)).