enemy

/ˈenəmi/EH-nuh-mee

/ˈɛnəmi/EH-nuh-mee

Meaningnot a friend

Common meaning: one who is hostile

innot (Latin in-, here negative)
imica friendLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 105 · scan

‘not (Latin in-, here negative)’ + ‘a friend’ → enemy

Worn-down word: enemy is what Old French made of Latin inimicus, in- (not) + amicus (friend). The en- here is not the English en- meaning "in". Skeat scan

Journey through time

Aryan root · reconstructed√KAM‘love’No written record; from Skeat’s list of Aryan roots, no. 50, p. 732 · scan
Latinamīcus, -ī‘a friend’
Old Frenchenemisource
Middle Englishenemisource
Englishenemy‘one who is hostile’ · today

imic also in: amicable

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin amīcus ‘a friend’.

Roots

amīcus, -ī Latin “a friend”

Related words

amicable

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