Gems of My Crown ~ Feign vs. Fiend vs. Feen

Now, this one has been giving the book girlies hell, so I knew I had to put something together for this one. Quite naturally, when you're reading and writing in the Romance and Erotica genres, you're going to come across this group of words giving the smut writers a hard time. Well, today, we're going to help them get it right. So, let's jump into Feign vs. Fiend vs. Feen.

Feign

Show of hands, who grew up watching Sesame Street? You? You? You did too? Cool. So, we're all familiar with the "One of These Things" song. Well, one of these things is not like the others, and it happens to be the one we're going to start with: feign. Feign can only be used as a verb, and that's one way it stands out from the others. To feign means to fake, pretend, or give the false appearance of something. A person can feign sick. They can feign sleep. They can feign interest in something, such as a conversation, or even feign being a fiend. Feign is the one word of this group that is not interchangeable with the others. It has its own meaning and its own pronunciation as well, as this word is pronounced with a long a.

Fiend

Fiend is the original legitimate word from which feen is derived and is pronounced with a long e instead of a long a. Fiend has two meanings in noun form. A fiend is an addict or someone who is excessively fond of, obsessed with, or addicted to something. Through its other meaning, it is a wicked, evil, demonic person or spirit. An adversary, opponent, or nemesis. An antagonist.

The confusion comes in with the first definition because fiend in the sense of an addict shares the same meaning with its offspring, feen. Fiend can be used as both a noun and a verb-- fiending, which means to experience a strong craving, need, or desire for something or to experience withdrawals from something.

Feen

Now, here we go with feen. Feen is African American Vernacular English, better known as slang. It's derived from fiend. It only has one meaning, though: a person who experiences a strong craving or withdrawals or the action of experiencing them. However, Feen cannot be used to represent an adversary or enemy. This word is preferred when a writer is referring to a sexual craving or desire between characters. It's easiest to remember the correct usage of this word by referring to the Jodeci song "Feenin'", which details the singers' strong addictions to their female objects of affection.

Recap

So, let's recap.

• Feign: Only a verb. To fake or pretend something
• Fiend: Verb or noun. To crave something or suffer withdrawals -or- a person who is addicted to something or craving something -or- an enemy or adversary.
• Feen: Verb or noun. To crave something or suffer withdrawals -or- a person who is addicted to something or craving something. Your go-to in urban fiction, especially when referring to sexual desires.