fike

F4I1K5E1

verb

To feign; dissemble; flatter.

OriginMiddle English fiken ← Old English fician ← Proto-West Germanic *fikōn →
UncommonScrabble 11
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Meanings

fike1

verbfike (third-person singular simple present fikes, present participle fiking, simple past and past participle fiked)

present singular third person fikes · participle present fiking · participle past fiked · past fiked

  1. ambitransitiveTo feign; dissemble; flatter.

fike2

verbfike (third-person singular simple present fikes, present participle fiking, simple past and past participle fiked)

present singular third person fikes · participle present fiking · participle past fiked · past fiked · alternative fick · alternative fyke

  1. intransitiveTo move about in a quick, uneasy way; be constantly in motion.
  2. transitiveTo give trouble to; vex; perplex.
nounfike (plural fikes)

plural fikes · alternative fick · alternative fyke

  1. Restlessness or agitation caused by trifling annoyance.
  2. UKdialectalAny trifling peculiarity in regard to work which causes unnecessary trouble; teasing exactness of operation.

fike3

nounfike (plural fikes)

plural fikes

  1. obsoleteA fig.
  2. UKdialectalA sore place on the foot.

Fike4

proper nounFike (plural Fikes)

plural Fikes

  1. A surname.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
fikery

Origin

fike · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*peyǵ-“ill-meaning, evil-minded, treacherous, hostile, bad”
  2. Proto-Germanic*fikōną“to deceive”
  3. Proto-West Germanic*fikōn
  4. Old Englishfician“to wheedle, flatter”
  5. Middle Englishfiken“to feign, dissemble, flatter”
  6. Englishfike

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”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

fike · verb, noun

  1. Old Norsefíkjast“to be eager or restless”
  2. Middle Englishfiken
  3. Englishfike

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.

More words from Middle English, Old Norse

Full word history & related roots →

fike · noun

  1. Latinfīcus
  2. Proto-Germanic*fīkaz
  3. Old Englishfīc“fig, fig-tree, fig-disease, venereal ulcer, hemorrhoids”
  4. Middle Englishfike
  5. Englishfike

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.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

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Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with fike

likemikestrikeunlikealikemicspikehikedislikeIkepsychpsychepiquediketrikeshrikevandykerestrikesliketykesykevikerikesike
All rhymes →

Anagrams

kiefkefikifeEfik
Cite this entry
APA

fike. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fike

MLA

“fike.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fike. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fike,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fike.

Source: fike on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.