English
ferous
Ferous comes from Latin ferus ‘wild, savage, fierce, cruel’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰweh₁r-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰweh₁r-reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEferus‘wild, savage, fierce, cruel’
- Englishearliest quotation 1653ferous
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰweh₁r-reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEferus‘wild, savage, fierce, cruel’
- Englishearliest quotation 1653ferous
Earliest quotation: 1653, Arthur Wilson: “And in this he had a speciall aim ,…”
Equivalent to ferus + -ous
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰweh₁r-
through Latin ferus ‘wild, savage, fierce, cruel’
Today it means
adj wild; savage; feral
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰweh₁r- / ferous