feroculus

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Latin

Etymology

From ferōx (“wild, fierce”) +‎ -ulus (diminutive suffix).

Pronunciation

Adjective

ferōculus (feminine ferōcula, neuter ferōculum); first/second-declension adjective (uncommon)

  1. diminutive of ferōx (“wild, fierce”): fierce little

Usage notes

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

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

  1. ^ Petersen, Walter. 1917. "Latin Diminution of Adjectives. II." Classical Philology, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Jan., 1917), pp. 49-67. (page 51)
  2. ^ Adams, J.N. 2005. "The Bellum Africum." Aspects of the Language of Latin Prose, edited by Tobias Reinhardt, Michael Lapidge, and J. N. Adams, pp. 73-96. (page 90)

Further reading

  • “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.
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