ferocitas

Latin

Etymology

From ferōx (“wild, fierce”) +‎ -tās.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /feˈroː.ki.taːs/, [fɛˈroːkɪt̪äːs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /feˈro.t͡ʃi.tas/, [feˈrɔːt͡ʃit̪äs]

Noun

ferōcitās f (genitive ferōcitātis); third declension

1. fierceness, ferocity

   Synonyms: crūdēlitās, feritās, sevēritās, asperitās

   Antonyms: misericordia, pietās, eleēmosyna, lēnitās

Usage notes

• According to Georges, ferōcitās is courage that is caused by a feeling of inner strength whereas ferōcia is an innate quality of character. Lewis & Short phrase this difference as "wild or untamed courage" (ferōcitās) versus "wild or untamed spirit" (ferōcia).

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	ferōcitās	ferōcitātēs
genitive	ferōcitātis	ferōcitātum
dative	ferōcitātī	ferōcitātibus
accusative	ferōcitātem	ferōcitātēs
ablative	ferōcitāte	ferōcitātibus
vocative	ferōcitās	ferōcitātēs

Related terms

• ferōcia

Descendants

• Catalan: ferocitat
• English: ferocity
• French: férocité
• Galician: ferocidade
• Italian: ferocità
• Portuguese: ferocidade
• Romanian: ferocitate
• Spanish: ferocidad

References

• “ferocitas”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ferocitas”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ferocitas in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• ferocitas in Georges, Karl Ernst, Georges, Heinrich (1913–1918) Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th edition, volume 1, Hahnsche Buchhandlung