Sherlock Holmes wrestling against archenemy Professor Moriarty.

In literature, an archenemy (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) or archnemesis is the main enemy of someone.^[1][2][3] In fiction, it is a character who is the protagonist's, commonly a hero's, most prominent and most-known enemy.

Etymology

The word archenemy sometimes spelled as arch-enemy originated around the mid-16th century, from the words arch-^[3] (from Greek ἄρχω archo meaning 'to lead') and enemy.^[1]

An archenemy may also be referred to as an archrival,^[4] archfoe,^[5] archvillain,^[6] or archnemesis.^[7] However, an archenemy may also be distinguished from a nemesis, 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.^[8]

See also

• Antagonist
• Supervillain
• Villain

References