{{Short description|Main enemy of someone}} {{other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} [[File:Sidney Paget - Original illustration of The Death of Sherlock Holmes, 1893 (cropped).png|thumb|right|Sherlock Holmes wrestling against his archenemy Professor James Moriarty.]]
In literature, an '''archenemy''' (sometimes spelled as '''arch-enemy''') or '''archnemesis''' is the main enemy of the protagonist—or sometimes, one of the other main characters—appearing as the most prominent and most-known enemy of the hero.<ref name="arch-dict">{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/archenemy |title=archenemy definition |publisher=Dictionary.com |access-date=7 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005075529/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/archenemy |archive-date=5 October 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="DefMerriam-Webster">{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archenemy|title=archenemy – Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary|publisher=Merriam-Webster|access-date=26 June 2008}}</ref><ref name="BBCLearningEng">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1837_aae/page23.shtml|title=BBC World Service {{!}} Learning English {{!}} Ask about English|last=Wicaksono|first=Rachel|publisher=BBC|access-date=26 June 2008}}</ref>
==Etymology== The word ''archenemy'' originated around the mid-16th century, from the words ''arch-''<ref name="BBCLearningEng"/> (from Greek ἄρχω ''archo'' meaning 'to lead') and ''enemy''.<ref name="arch-dict"/>
An archenemy may also be referred to as an ''archrival'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archrival|title=Definition of ARCHRIVAL|website=merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=2019-10-11}}</ref> ''archfoe'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archfoe|title=Definition of ARCHFOE|website=merriam-webster.com}}</ref> ''archvillain'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archvillain|title=Definition of ARCHVILLAIN|website=merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=2019-10-11}}</ref> or ''archnemesis'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archnemesis|title=Definition of ARCHNEMESIS|website=merriam-webster.com}}</ref> but an archenemy may also be distinguished from an archnemesis, with the latter being an enemy whom the hero cannot defeat (or who defeats the hero), even while not being a longstanding or consistent enemy to the hero.<ref>Sage Michael, ''How to Become a Superhero: the Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate You!'' (2011), p. 228.</ref>
The archenemy should not be confused with the proper meaning of ''Nemesis'' — the Greek goddess of justice, retribution, and vengeance — who delivered divine punishment on those who committed great offences against the gods and the world.<ref>{{cite book |title=Collins English Dictionary |publisher=Harper Collins |year=1991 |isbn=0-00-433286-5 |language=en |page=1046}}</ref>
==See also== *Antagonist *Supervillain *Villain *Nemesis
==References== {{reflist}}
{{stock characters}} {{fiction writing}}
Category:Rivalry Category:Stock characters Category:Superhero fiction themes Category:Supervillains
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