vendetta

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 9, 2021 is: vendetta \ven-DET-uh\ noun

1 : a feud between different clans or families : [blood feud](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blood%20feud)

2 : an often prolonged series of retaliatory, vengeful, or hostile acts or exchange of such acts

Examples:

"In the pilot episode of Superman & Lois, The CW series introduced a mysterious villain known as the Stranger. While this villain kept his identity a secret, he had a personal vendetta against Superman and planned on taking him out for good." — [Ian Cardona, Comic Book Resources (CBR.com), 5 Mar. 2021](https://www.cbr.com/superman-lois-teased-new-52-villain-hel/)

"When Taylor Swift … announced that she'd be re-recording her albums in a push for ownership over her work, the venture sounded risky. Swift cast her decision as both a personal vendetta … and a moralistic stand against the industry's treatment of artists." — [Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2021](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/02/taylor-swift-love-story-rerecording/618019/)

Did you know?

Vendetta has been getting even in English since the 19th century, when it first was used to refer to feuds between different clans or families. It later extended in meaning to cover acts that are known to feature in feuds of all kinds. English speakers borrowed vendetta, spelling and all, from Italian, in which it means "revenge." It ultimately traces to the Latin verb vindicta, of the same meaning. That Latin word is also in the family tree of many other English terms related to getting even, including [avenge](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avenge), [revenge](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revenge), [vengeance](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vengeance), [vindicate](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vindicate), and [vindictive](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vindictive).