ferocity (n.)

c. 1600, from French férocité, from Latin ferocitatem (nominative ferocitas) "fierceness," from ferocis, oblique case of ferox "bold, courageous, warlike; fierce, savage, headstrong, cruel," literally "wild-looking," a derivative of ferus "wild" (from PIE root *ghwer- "wild beast") + -ox (genitive -ocis), a suffix meaning "looking or appearing" (cognate with Greek ōps "eye, sight;" from PIE root *okw- "to see").

also from c. 1600

Entries linking to ferocity

*ghwer-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "wild beast."

It forms all or part of: baluchitherium; feral; ferine; ferocious; ferocity; fierce; ther-; Theropoda; treacle.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Latin ferus "wild, untamed;" Greek thēr, Old Church Slavonic zveri, Lithuanian žvėris "wild beast."

*okw-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to see."

It forms all or part of: amblyopia; antique; antler; atrocity; autopsy; binocle; binocular; biopsy; catoptric; Cyclops; daisy; enoptomancy; eye; eyelet; ferocity; hyperopia; inoculate; inveigle; monocle; monocular; myopia; necropsy; ocular; oculist; oculus; oeillade; ogle; ophthalmo-; optic; optician; optics; optometry; panoptic; panopticon; Peloponnesus; pinochle; presbyopia; prosopopeia; stereoptican; synopsis; triceratops; ullage; wall-eyed; window.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit akshi "the eye; the number two," Greek osse "(two) eyes," opsis "a sight;" Old Church Slavonic oko, Lithuanian akis, Latin oculus, Greek okkos, Tocharian ak, ek, Armenian akn "eye."

Trends of ferocity

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

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fury

late 14c., "fierce passion," from Old French furie, fuire "rage, frenzy" (14c.), from Latin furia "violent passion, rage, madness," from or related to furere "to rage, be mad," which is of uncertain origin. "Many etymologies have been proposed, but none is clearly the best" [de V

catfish

given to various types of fish, 1610s, originally probably in reference to the Atlantic wolf-fish, in reference to its ferocity...

roll

(rolle his eyne), originally suggestive of ferocity or madness. Of a movie camera, "to start filming," from 1938....

virtual

late 14c., "influencing by physical virtues or capabilities, effective with respect to inherent natural qualities," from Medieval Latin virtualis, from Latin virtus "excellence, potency, efficacy," literally "manliness, manhood" (see virtue). The meaning "being something in essen

orphan

"a child bereaved of one or both parents, generally the latter," c. 1300, from Late Latin orphanus "parentless child" (source of Old French orfeno, orphenin, Italian orfano), from Greek orphanos "orphaned, without parents, fatherless," literally "deprived," from orphos "bereft."

bug

"insect, beetle," 1620s (earliest reference is to bedbugs), of unknown origin, probably (but not certainly) from or influenced by Middle English bugge "something frightening, scarecrow" (late 14c.), a word or meaning that has become obsolete since the "insect" sense arose, except

citizen

c. 1300, citisein (fem. citeseine) "inhabitant of a city or town," from Anglo-French citesein, citezein "city-dweller, town-dweller, citizen" (Old French citeien, 12c., Modern French citoyen), from cite (see city) + -ain (see -ian). According to Middle English Compendium, the -s-

fringe

early 14c., "ornamental bordering; material for a fringe," from Old French frenge "thread, strand, fringe, hem, border" (early 14c.), from Vulgar Latin *frimbia, metathesis of Late Latin fimbria, from Latin fimbriae (plural) "fibers, threads, fringe," which is of uncertain origin

binge

1854, "drinking bout," also (v.) "drink heavily, soak up alcohol;" dialectal use of binge "soak" (a wooden vessel). Said to have been originally as a dialect word. Binge is noted in Evans' "Leicestershire Words, Phrases and Proverbs" (London, 1848) as a dialect verb for "To soak

wisdom

Old English wisdom "knowledge, learning, experience," from wis (see wise (adj.)) + -dom. A common Germanic compound (Old Saxon, Old Frisian wisdom, Old Norse visdomr, Old High German wistuom "wisdom," German Weistum "judicial sentence serving as a precedent"). Wisdom teeth are so

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updated on October 30, 2018

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