feroculus
Latin edit
Etymology edit
From ferōx (“wild, fierce”) + -ulus (diminutive suffix).
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /feˈroː.ku.lus/, [fɛˈroːkʊɫ̪ʊs̠]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /feˈro.ku.lus/, [feˈrɔːkulus]
Adjective edit
ferōculus (feminine ferōcula, neuter ferōculum); first/second-declension adjective (uncommon)
- Diminutive of ferōx (“wild, fierce”): fierce little
Usage notes edit
Lewis and Short defines the word as meaning "somewhat spirited or fierce", but this interpretation of the word is likely erroneous, as its use in an exclamatory context with the strengthening adverb tam (“so, so much, such a”) in "tam feroculus es" does not fit easily with this definition.[1] The diminutive in this word likely expressed the speaker's attitude of contempt towards the referent.[2] For the use of diminutive adjectives to express evaluative attitudes rather than the degree to which the referent possesses the quality denoted by the adjective, compare pulchellus and tenellus, whose use in affectionate contexts is better explained if they meant "pretty little" and "tender little" rather than the lukewarm compliments "somewhat pretty" and "somewhat tender".
Declension edit
First/second-declension adjective.
Number | Singular | Plural | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case / Gender | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
Nominative | ferōculus | ferōcula | ferōculum | ferōculī | ferōculae | ferōcula | |
Genitive | ferōculī | ferōculae | ferōculī | ferōculōrum | ferōculārum | ferōculōrum | |
Dative | ferōculō | ferōculō | ferōculīs | ||||
Accusative | ferōculum | ferōculam | ferōculum | ferōculōs | ferōculās | ferōcula | |
Ablative | ferōculō | ferōculā | ferōculō | ferōculīs | |||
Vocative | ferōcule | ferōcula | ferōculum | ferōculī | ferōculae | ferōcula |
References edit
Further reading edit
- “feroculus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- feroculus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.