Etymologically

furibundus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [fʊ.rɪˈbʊn.dʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [fu.riˈbun.dus][1]

Forms

furibundus (feminine furibunda, neuter furibundum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin furō (“to rave, rage”) + -bundus.[2][1][3] De Vaan finds no convincing etymology for furō: many have been proposed, none clearly better than the others.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero, who calls Clodius a raving and desperate man.[5][2][6]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short call it rare but classical.[6] Cicero also uses it of the inspired mind of prophets, which sees the future long before it comes.[2] Otherwise it is fury: Sallust has Catiline speak in a rage, Ovid applies it to a bull.[6] Ancient grammarians discussed whether it was a participle; they classed it as an adjective formed with the ending ⟨-bundus⟩.[3]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of a raving man and of prophets.[2][6][5]
  • 86–34 BC – Sallust of Catiline in a rage.[6][5]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid of a bull.[6][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Out of one's mind, frenzied, raving.[2][6][1]
  2. Of prophets and prophecies, inspired.[2][1]
  3. Beside oneself with rage, furious.[2][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press