ferax Latin · revision 9243

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=Plautus|origins=ine-pro *bʰer-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈfɛ.raːks]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfɛː.raks]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ferāx''' (genitive ferācis, comparative ferācior, superlative ferācissimus, adverb ferāciter); third-declension one-termination adjective^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is from [[ferō]] “to bear” with the suffix [[-āx]] “inclined to”.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan traces ⟨ferō⟩ to [[ine-pro|*bʰer-|t=to carry]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of fertile land.^(OLD 2012) Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It meant of land bearing rich crops, fertile, productive, as in Plautus, Lucretius and Cicero, and Caesar has the superlative ''fērācissimus''.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Gaffiot 2016) With a genitive it meant productive of something, as in Horace's ''venēnōrum ferāx'' “rich in poisons”.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)

+

+ British Medieval Latin used it for fertile, fruitful, profitable.^(DMLBS) It survives in Italian ''ferace'' and Spanish ''feraz''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of fields.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 65–8 BC – Horace uses it with a genitive.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|fertile|alt=Fertile]], fruitful.^(OLD 2012)

+ # Productive (of).^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ferācitās]]

+ * [[inferax]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ferō]]

+ * [[fertilis]]

+ * [[fēcundus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}