foe

See also FoE, and FOE

English

Etymology 1

Middle English fo 'foe; hostile', from earlier ifo 'foe', from Old English ġefāh 'enemy', from fāh 'hostile', from Proto-Germanic *faihaz (cf. Old Frisian fāch 'punishable', Middle High German gevēch 'feuder'), from Proto-Indo-European *peik/k̑- 'to hate, be hostile' (cf. Middle Irish oech 'enemy, fiend', Latin piget 'he is annoying', Lithuanian piktas ‘evil’, Albanian pis ‘dirty, scoundrel’).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fəʊ/,

  Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊ
• Homophones: faux

Adjective

foe (comparative more foe, superlative most foe)

1. (obsolete) Hostile.
   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, vol. 1 ch. 23:

     he, I say, could passe into Affrike onely with two simple ships or small barkes, to commit himselfe in a strange and foe countrie, to engage his person, under the power of a barbarous King [...]

Noun

foe (plural foes)

1. An enemy.

Synonyms

• (enemy): adversary, enemy, opponent

Antonyms

• (enemy): ally, friend

Translations

enemy — see enemy

Etymology 2

An acronym of fifty-one ergs

Noun

foe (plural foes)

1. A unit of energy equal to 10⁴⁴ joules.

Anagrams

• EOF