- enmity
- c.1300, from O.Fr. enemistie, from V.L. *inimicitatem (nom. *inimicitas), from L. inimicitia "enmity, hostility," from inimicus "enemy" (see enemy).
- hostility
- 1530s, from M.Fr. hostilité "enmity," from L.L. hostilitatem (nom. hostilitas) "enmity," from L. hostilis, from hostis "enemy."
- Job
- the Biblical name, Heb., lit. "hated, persecuted," from ayyabh "he was hostile to," related to ebhah "enmity."
- feud
- c.1300, fede, northern Eng. and Scottish, from O.Fr. fede, from O.H.G. fehida "contention, quarrel, feud," from P.Gmc. *faihitha, noun of state from *faiho- (adj.), related to O.E. fæhð "enmity." The whole group is connected to modern Eng. foe (q.v.). Sense of "vendetta" is c.1425. Alteration of spelling in 16c. is unexplained.
- kriegspiel
- war games played with pieces on maps, 1811, from Ger. Kriegsspiel, lit. "war game," from Krieg "war," from M.H.G. kriec, mostly "exertion, opposition, enmity," from O.H.G. krig "stubbornness, defiance," probably cognate with Gk. hybris "violence" (see hubris; cf. also war). For second element, see spiel (n.). Introduced 1870s as officer training in British army.
- Satan
- proper name of the supreme evil spirit in Christianity, O.E. Satan, from L.L. Satan (in Vulgate, in O.T. only), from Gk. Satanas, from Heb. satan "adversary, one who plots against another," from satan "to show enmity to, oppose, plot against," from root s-t-n "one who opposes, obstructs, or acts as an adversary." In Septuagint (Gk.) usually translated as diabolos "slanderer," lit. "one who throws (something) across" the path of another (see devil), though epiboulos "plotter" is used once.
"In biblical sources the Hebrew term the satan describes an adversarial role. It is not the name of a particular character. Although Hebrew storytellers as early as the sixth century B.C.E. occasionally introduced a supernatural character whom they called the satan, what they meant was any one of the angels sent by God for the specific purpose of blocking or obstructing human activity." [Elaine Pagels, "The Origin of Satan," 1995]
Satanic "pertaining to Satan" is first recorded 1667 (in "Paradise Lost"); meaning "diabolical" is from 1793. Satanism "worship of Satan" dates from 1896, with ref. to France, where it was said to be active at that time; Satanist is attested from 1559, applied by their enemies to Protestant sects. - cat
- O.E. (c.700), from W.Gmc. (c.400-450), from P.Gmc. *kattuz, from L.L. cattus. The near-universal European word now, it appeared in Europe as L. catta (Martial, c.75 C.E.), Byzantine Gk. katta (c.350) and was in general use on the continent by c. 700, replacing L. feles. Probably ult. Afro-Asiatic (cf. Nubian kadis, Berber kadiska, both meaning "cat"). Arabic qitt "tomcat" may be from the same source. Cats were domestic in Egypt from c.2000 B.C.E., but not a familiar household animal to classical Greeks and Romans. The nine lives have been proverbial since at least 1560s. Extended to lions, tigers, etc. c.1600. As a term of contempt for a woman, from early 13c. Slang sense of "prostitute" is from at least c.1400. Slang sense of "fellow, guy," is from 1920, originally in U.S. Black Eng.; narrower sense of "jazz enthusiast" is recorded from 1931. Catnap is from 1823; catfish is from c.1620. Cat's-cradle is from 1768. Cat-o'-nine-tails (1690s), probably so called in reference to its "claws," was legal instrument of punishment in British Navy until 1881. Cat's paw (1769, but cat's foot in the same sense, 1597) refers to old folk tale in which the monkey tricks the cat into pawing chestnuts from a fire; the monkey gets the nuts, the cat gets a burnt paw. To rain cats and dogs (c.1652) is probably an extension of cats and dogs as proverbial for "strife, enmity" (1570s). Cat-witted "small-minded, obstinate, and spiteful" (1670s) deserved to survive. For Cat's meow, cat's pajamas, see bee's knees.