furieux

Forms

furieux (feminine furieuse, masculine plural furieux, feminine plural furieuses)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin furiōsus (“raving, mad, frenzied”), formed on furia (“rage, frenzy”), whence furie.^[2][3][4] Wiktionary gives it through Old French furieus.^[1]

Littré compares Old Occitan furios, Spanish furioso and Italian furioso.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi's first record is fille furieuse “irascible, violent girl” in Jean Corbichon's translation of the Propriétés des choses (1372); the Grand Robert dates the word to about 1290 and the GLLF to the end of the 13th century.^[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

In 1437 the word is used of a madman given to violence, a sense kept in fou furieux and in law, where un furieux was a person who could be placed under guardianship.^[2][6][5] Du Bellay used it for “seized by a violent passion”, especially love (before 1559), and of fire whirling furiously (1560); Montaigne has it for “very great, excessive” (1580).^[6][2] The sense “expressing rage”, as in air furieux, is found in Boileau (1672), and heraldry took it for a bull rearing (1690).^[2][5]

Timeline

• 1372 – Furieuse “violent” in Corbichon.^[2]
• 1437 – Of a violent madman, in the customs of Anjou and Maine.^[2]
• 1560 – Du Bellay's fire that tournoyast furieux.^[2]
• 1580 – Montaigne's furieux desir de guarison.^[2][5]
• 1672 – Boileau's air furieux.^[2]
• 1690 – Furetière records the heraldic sense.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. In a violent rage; furious: être furieux contre son voisin.^[7][1]
2. Seized by violent madness: fou furieux; as a noun, a raving madman.^[7][2]
3. Driven by a wild, unbridled passion: une jalousie furieuse.^[7][6]
4. Violent, raging (of things): un vent furieux.^[7][5]
5. (familiar, before the noun) Very great, excessive: un furieux appétit.^[2][7]
6. (heraldry) Of a bull: rearing.^[2][5]

Word family

• furieusement

Related words

• fureur
• furie
• furibond
• Latin furia

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 901b
5. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert