enemy
pronunciation
How to pronounce enemy in British English:
UK [ˈenəmi]
How to pronounce enemy in American English:
US [ˈenəmi]
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- Noun:
- an opposing military force
- an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force)
- any hostile group of people
- a personal enemy
Word Origin
- enemy
- enemy: [13] An enemy is literally someone who is ‘not a friend’. The word comes, via Old French enemi, from Latin inimīcus, a compound formed from the prefix in- ‘not’ and amīcus ‘friend’ (source of English amicable and related to English amiable). The late Latin derivative inimīcālis produced English inimical [17].=> amicable, inimical
- enemy (n.)
- early 13c., "one hateful toward and intent on harming (someone)," from Old French enemi (12c., Modern French ennemi), earlier inimi (9c.) "enemy, adversary, foe; demon, the Devil," from Latin inimicus "an enemy," literally "an unfriend," noun use of adjective meaning "hostile, unfriendly" (source also of Italian nemico, Catalan enamic, Spanish enemigo, Portuguese inimigo), from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + amicus "friend" related to amare "to love" (see Amy). From c. 1300 in English as "adversary of God, unbeliever, heathen, anti-Christian;" late 14c. as "the Devil;" also late 14c. as "member of an armed, hostile body in a war, feud, etc.;" of the opposing military forces as a whole, from c. 1600. From mid-14c. as an adjective. Most Indo-European words for "personal enemy" cover also "enemy in war," but certain languages have special terms for the latter, such as Greek polemioi (distinct from ekhthroi), Latin hostis, originally "stranger" (distinct from inimicus), Russian neprijatel' (distinct from vrag). Russian vrag (Old Church Slavonic vragu) is cognate with Lithuanian vargas "misery" (see urge (v.)), and probably is related to Proto-Germanic *wargoz, source of Old Norse vargr "outlaw," hence "wolf;" Icelandic vargur "fox;" Old English wearg "criminal, felon;" which likely were the inspirations for J.R.R. Tolkien's warg as the name of a kind of large ferocious wolf in "The Hobbit" (1937) and "Lord of the Rings." Related: Enemies.
Synonym
Antonym
Example
- 1. Yet china need not be an enemy .
- 2. They 've looted food from enemy homes - maybe even killing the women and children .
- 3. Killing enemy forces is merely the means to this objective .
- 4. In traditional war films , the enemy is faceless .
- 5. That is tricky when they are the enemy .