An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Fehde

by Friedrich Kluge

Fehde, f., ‘feud,’ from MidHG. vêhede, vêde, OHG. fêhida, ‘hate, enmity, quarrel, feud’; corresponds to AS. fœ̂hþ, f., ‘enmity, revenge, feud’; Goth *faihiþa, ‘enmity,’ is probably an abstract noun from the Goth. adj. *faihs, ‘hostile,’ which appears in AS. as fâh, fâg, ‘exiled, outlawed, proscribed’ (AS. gefâa, m., ‘enemy,’ E. foe; comp. OHG. gifêh, MidHG. gevêch, ‘hostile, malignant’). A pre-Teut. root, pī̆q, ‘to injure, cheat’ (comp. also Goth. faih, ‘imposition, deception,’ bifaihôn, ‘to deceive, overreach’), is indicated by the Lith.; comp. Lith. pìktas, ‘angry,’ pýkti, ‘to get angry,’ peíkti, ‘to curse,’ paíkas, ‘stupid’ (akin to Pruss. po-paikâ, ‘he cheats’). Respecting the interchange of meaning between ‘to injure’ and ‘to deceive,’ see trügen. Hence E. foe is lit. ‘one who injures,’ OHG. fêhida, lit. ‘hurt, injury.’