fiender

Fiender is a noun used in Norwegian Bokmål and Swedish to denote people or groups that are opponents or foes. As the plural form of fiende, it translates to "enemies" or "foes" in English. The term is common in both everyday language and literary contexts, where it can refer to individuals, rival groups, or adversarial forces in conflicts, competitions, or narratives.

Etymology and related forms: Fiende and fiender derive from the same Germanic roots that produced English words such as foe and fiend. The North Germanic languages share similar basic meanings, with Norwegian and Swedish using fiende as the singular and fiender as the plural. Danish uses fjende (singular) and fjender (plural), which reflects a closely related but distinct spelling in that language. The plural form fiender is therefore characteristic of Norwegian and Swedish, while Danish differs in both singular and plural spellings.

Usage and grammar: In Norwegian, the indefinite plural form is fiender, with the definite plural fiendene. In Swedish, fiende serves as the noun with indefinite plural fiender and definite plural fienderna, while the definite singular is fienden. The word is a common noun and does not imply any particular moral judgment by itself; context determines whether the enmity is personal, institutional, fictional, or symbolic. Fiender appears in political discourse, sports commentary, historical writing, and fiction to describe opposing sides or forces.