FEUD  , animosity, hatred, especially a permanent

condition of hostilities between persons, and hence applied to a state of private warfare between tribes, clans or families, a " vendetta." The word appears in Mid . Eng. as fede, which came through the O . Fr. from the O . High Ger. fehida, modern Fehde . The O . Teutonic faiho, an adjective, the source of fehida, gives the O . Eng. fah, foe . " Fiend," originally an enemy (cf . Ger . Feind), hence the enemy of mankind, the devil, and so any evil spirit, is probably connected with the same source . The word fede was of Scottish usage, but in the 16th century took the form foode,fewd in English . The New English Dictionary points out that " feud, fee (Lat. feudum) could not have influenced the change, for it appears fifty years later than the first instances of foode, &c., and was only used by writers on feudalism." For the etymology of "feud" (feudum) see FEE, and for its history see FEUDALISM .