fera
This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 19:01. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Pronunciation
Forms
fera f (genitive ferae); first declension[1]
Etymology
It is the feminine of ferus “wild”, used as a noun.[2][1][3] De Vaan traces ⟨ferus⟩ to Proto-Italic *χwero-, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰweh₁r- (“wild animal”).[4]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler's earliest source is Naevius, whom he dates c. 235–200 BC.[5]
Semantic evolution
It was a wild or undomesticated animal, a wild beast, as in Accius, Cicero and Caesar; a beast as against a human being, as in Pacuvius; a sea creature; and in Cicero a constellation in the shape of a beast.[2][3]
In Medieval Latin it was especially a deer, the red deer.[6] Fera domōrum was a domestic animal.[5] It survives in Italian fiera, Spanish fiera and Romanian fiară.[1]
Timeline
- c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.[5]
- 170–c. 90 BC – Accius uses it of a wild animal.[2][5]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[3][5]
Meanings
Noun
- A wild animal, wild beast.[2]
- A beast (as against a human).[2]
- A constellation shaped like a beast.[2]
- (Medieval Latin) A deer.[6]
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill