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Today it means

ferocious

savagely fierce

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Where does the word "ferocious" come from? It comes from Latin ferox, and was adopted directly into English (1640s).

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Where does the word "ferocious" come from? It comes from Latin ferox, and was adopted directly into English (1640s).

Ferocious’s story begins in Latin: ferox meant “wild, fierce.” From 'ferus', wild, the root of 'fierce'. It reached English by 1640s as ferocious. 'ferocity' followed. Today, ferocious means savagely fierce.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient ferox "wild, fierce", from 'ferus', wild, the root of 'fierce'.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1640s ferocious "fierce", 'ferocity' followed.

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