# fiend

> English word · Noun · IPA /fiːnd/ · frequency rank #25,384

## Definitions
1. A devil or demon; a malignant or diabolical being; an evil spirit.
2. A very evil person.
3. An enemy; a foe.
4. The enemy of mankind, specifically, the Devil; Satan.
5. An addict or fanatic.

## Etymology
From Middle English fend, feend (“enemy; demon”), from Old English fēond (“enemy”), Proto-West Germanic *fijand, from Proto-Germanic *fijandz.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots fient (“fiend”), Saterland Frisian Fäind (“enemy, fiend, foe”), Cimbrian faint (“enemy, fiend”), Dutch vijand (“enemy”), German Feind (“enemy, fiend, foe”), Vilamovian faeind, fajnd (“enemy”), Yiddish פֿײַנד (faynd), פֿײַנט (faynt, “enemy”), Danish fjende (“adversary, enemy, foe”), Icelandic fjandi (“enemy; fiend, demon, devil”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish fiende (“enemy”), Old Norse fjándi (“enemy; devil”), Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (fiands), 𐍆𐌹𐌾𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (fijands, “enemy, foe”). The Old Norse and Gothic terms are present participles of the corresponding verbs fjá/𐍆𐌹𐌾𐌰𐌽 (fijan, “to hate”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₁- (“to hate”) (compare Sanskrit पीयति (pī́yati, “(he) reviles”)).

## Easily confused with
- **fin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-fin)
- **find** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-find)
- **fine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-fine)
- **fund** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-fund)
- **Fred** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-fred)
- **fled** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-fled)
- **fond** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-fond)
- **Finn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-finn)
- **fins** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-fins)
- **fink** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-fink)
- **fina** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-fina)
- **found** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-found)
- **fixed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-fixed)
- **fired** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-fired)
- **finds** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-finds)
- **filed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-filed)
- **fried** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-fried)
- **freed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-freed)
- **fined** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-fined)
- **Fiona** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-fiona)

## Common misspellings (6)
`feind`, `ffiend`, `fiedn`, `fiendd`, `fiennd`, `ifend`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/fiend