archenemy: Definition, Synonyms from Answers.com

An archenemy, archfoe, archvillain or archnemesis (sometimes spelled arch-enemy, arch-foe, arch-villain or arch-nemesis, originated around the mid-16^th century) is the principal enemy of a character in a work of fiction, often described as the hero's worst enemy (compare nemesis)^[1].^[2]^[3]^[1] The reason why the particular villain stands out more than the rest of the protagonist's rogues gallery varies; they may be the hero's strongest enemy, have strong connections with the hero's past, caused the hero a great deal of personal pain, has the most personal grudge against the hero, may be the most recurring enemy,^[4] the villain and the hero may be the respective leaders of two opposing factions or it may even be all these things. In certain cases, it is possible for a hero to possess more than one archenemy where the villains have established themselves at various times.

1 Etymology
2 Examples of archenemies
3 See also
4 Notes

Etymology

The word archenemy or arch-enemy originated around the mid-16^th century, from the words arch- and enemy.^[1]

Examples of archenemies

Main article: List of fictional archenemies

The reason why the particular villain stands out more than the rest of the protagonist's rogues gallery varies; they may be the hero's strongest enemy (Doctor Doom/The Fantastic Four) (Professor Moriarty/Sherlock Holmes), have strong connections with the hero's past (the Master/the Doctor), caused the hero a great deal of personal pain (the Joker/Batman) (Ernst Stavro Blofeld/James Bond)), has the most personal grudge against the hero (Lex Luthor/Superman), may be the most recurring enemy (Bowser/Mario),^[4], the villain and the hero may be the respective leaders of two opposing factions (Megatron/Optimus Prime) or it may even be all these things (King Ghidorah/Godzilla). In certain cases, it is possible for a hero to possess more than one archenemy, as in the case of Spider-Man with Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and Venom where all three villains have established themselves, at various times, as the most recurring and the most iconic of Spider-Man's rogues gallery.

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c "archenemy definition". Dictionary. Dictionary.com. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/archenemy. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
^ "archenemy - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary". Merriam-Webster. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archenemy. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
^ Wicaksono, Rachel. "BBC World Service". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1837_aae/page23.shtml. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
^ ^a ^b Albert, Aaron. "Top Ten Comic Book Archenemies - Superhero and Villain Arch-rivals". About.com. http://comicbooks.about.com/od/characters/tp/archenemies.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-25.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Donate to Wikimedia

		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Archenemy". Read more
		Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more

archenemy

Contents

Etymology

Examples of archenemies

See also

Notes