An enemy or foe is a relativist term for an entity, whether an individual or a group, that is seen as forcefully adverse or threatening. The concept of an enemy has been observed to be "basic for both individuals and communities". The term "enemy" serves the social function of designating a particular entity as a threat, thereby invoking an intense emotional response to that entity. The state of being or having an enemy is enmity.
Read more about Foe: Terms, Enemies As A Function of Social Science, Enemies in Literature, Treatment of Enemies
Famous quotes containing the word foe:
“The Same, the Same: friend and foe are of one stuff; the ploughman, the plough, and the furrow, are of one stuff; and the stuff is such, and so much, that the variations of form are unimportant.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“But keepe the wolfe far thence, that’s foe to men,
For with his nailes he’ll dig them up agen.”
—John Webster (c. 1580–1638)
“In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretch’d beneath the tree.”
—William Blake (1757–1827)