ferocious
fuh-ROH-shuhs · adjective
LatinEnglish
Origin
Ferocious comes from Latin ferōx, meaning wild, bold, savage, or fierce, with the English suffix -ous added to turn it into an adjective.
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Journey
The word was formed by taking that Latin root wholesale and dressing it in an English ending, a straightforward borrowing rather than a shift in meaning.
More words
From Latin