fike

fike · verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*peyǵ-“ill-meaning, evil-minded, treacherous, hostile, bad”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*fikōną“to deceive”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*fikōn
4. Old English · inherited fromfician“to wheedle, flatter”
5. Middle English · inherited fromfiken“to feign, dissemble, flatter”
6. English todayfike

From Middle English fiken (“to feign, dissemble, flatter”), from Old English fician (“to wheedle, flatter”) (also found in compound befician (“to deceive”)), from Proto-West Germanic *fikōn, from Proto-Germanic *fikōną (“to deceive”), from Proto-Indo-European *peyǵ- (“ill-meaning, evil-minded, treacherous, hostile, bad”). Related to Old English ġefic (“fraud, deceit, deception”), Old English fācen (“deceit, fraud, treachery, sin, evil, crime, blemish, fault”), Middle High German veichen (“dissembling, deceit, fraud”), Latin piget (“it irks, it annoys”).

fike · verb, noun²

1. Old Norse · derived fromfíkjast“to be eager or restless”
2. Middle English · inherited fromfiken
3. English todayfike

From Middle English fiken, fyken (“to fidget, move about restlessly, hasten away”), from Old Norse fíkjast (“to be eager or restless”), from fíka (“to climb, move”). Cognate with Scots fyke (“to move about restlessly, fidget, itch”), Norwegian fika (“to strive, take trouble”), Icelandic fikinn (“eager, greedy”). Related to fig and fidget.

fike · noun³

1. Latin · derived fromfīcus
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*fīkaz
3. Old English · inherited fromfīc“fig, fig-tree, fig-disease, venereal ulcer, hemorrhoids”
4. Middle English · inherited fromfike
5. English todayfike

From Middle English fike, from Old English fīc (“fig, fig-tree, fig-disease, venereal ulcer, hemorrhoids”), from Proto-Germanic *fīkaz, *fīgō (“fig”), from Latin fīcus, fīca (“fig, fig-tree”). Cognate with Dutch vijg (“fig”), German Feige (“fig”), Swedish fikon (“fig”), Icelandic fikja (“ficus”). More at fig.

Words from the same roots