vendetta

[ven-det-uh] /vɛnˈdɛt ə/
noun
1.
a private feud in which the members of the family of a murdered person seek to avenge the murder by killing the slayer or one of the slayer's relatives, especially such vengeance as once practiced in Corsica and parts of Italy.
2.
any prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, contention, or the like:
a political vendetta.
Origin
1850-55; < Italian < Latin vindicta vengeance; see vindictive
Related forms
vendettist, noun
Examples from the web for vendetta
  • Some for other forms of feud, vendetta, and revenge.
  • For example, a student once came to me claiming that her humanities professor had a personal vendetta against her.
  • And don't bother with vendetta claims etc either, they don't help you.
  • His supporters say the government is waging a vendetta against him.
  • But it takes a special state of mind to go on a killing spree and on a vendetta.
  • He claims that the courts are pursuing a political vendetta.
  • His supporters say that the court's ruling is part of a judicial vendetta against him.
  • Chambers had been set up in a vendetta by prison officials.
  • Once again, a national conflict's reduced to personal vendetta.
  • These findings make me wonder if crows also go a step further and enact vendetta on humans.
British Dictionary definitions for vendetta

vendetta

/vɛnˈdɛtə/
noun
1.
a private feud, originally between Corsican or Sicilian families, in which the relatives of a murdered person seek vengeance by killing the murderer or some member of his family
2.
any prolonged feud, quarrel, etc
Derived Forms
vendettist, noun
Word Origin
C19: from Italian, from Latin vindicta, from vindicāre to avenge; see vindicate
Word Origin and History for vendetta
n.

1855, from Italian vendetta "a feud, blood feud," from Latin vindicta "revenge" (see vindictive). Especially associated with Corsica.

Encyclopedia Article for vendetta

blood feud

a continuing state of conflict between two groups within a society (typically kinship groups) characterized by violence, usually killings and counterkillings. It exists in many nonliterate communities in which there is an absence of law or a breakdown of legal procedures and in which attempts to redress a grievance in a way that is acceptable to both parties have failed.

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