ferreo

See also: férreo

Italian

Etymology

Probably borrowed from Latin ferreus. By surface analysis, ferro (“iron”) +‎ -eo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɛr.re.o/
• Rhymes: -ɛrreo
• Hyphenation: fèr‧re‧o

Adjective

ferreo (feminine ferrea, masculine plural ferrei, feminine plural ferree)

1. (rare, relational) iron

   Synonyms: di ferro, ferrigno

2. (figurative, by extension) resistant, robust

   Synonyms: resistente, robusto

3. (figurative, by extension) inflexible, rigid, rigorous

   Synonyms: inflessibile, rigido, rigoroso, risoluto, irremovibile

   disciplina ferrea ― iron discipline

   volontà ferrea ― iron will

   • 2019, George Orwell, translated by Nicola Gardini, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mondadori:

     Ci voleva pure una certa agilità mentale, la capacità di applicare in un dato momento la logica più ferrea, e di ignorare subito dopo i più grossolani errori di logica.

     It needed also a sort of athleticism of mind, an ability at one moment to make the most delicate use of logic and at the next to be unconscious of the crudest logical errors.

     (literally, “It took even a certain mental agility, the capacity to apply in one given moment the most rigorous logic, and to ignore immediately after the crudest logical errors.”)

Derived terms

• ferreamente

Further reading

• ferreo in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Latin

Adjective

ferreō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of ferreus