feroculus

Latin

Etymology

From ferōx (“wild, fierce”) +‎ -ulus (diminutive suffix).

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /feˈroː.ku.lus/, [fɛˈroːkʊɫ̪ʊs̠]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /feˈro.ku.lus/, [feˈrɔːkulus]

Adjective

ferōculus (feminine ferōcula, neuter ferōculum); first/second-declension adjective (uncommon)

diminutive of ferōx (“wild, fierce”): fierce little

Usage notes

Lewis and Short defines the word as meaning "somewhat spirited or fierce", but this interpretation of the word is likely erroneous, as its use in an exclamatory context with the strengthening adverb tam (“so, so much, such a”) in "tam feroculus es" does not fit easily with this definition.^[1] The diminutive in this word likely expressed the speaker's attitude of contempt towards the referent.^[2] For the use of diminutive adjectives to express evaluative attitudes rather than the degree to which the referent possesses the quality denoted by the adjective, compare pulchellus and tenellus, whose use in affectionate contexts is better explained if they meant "pretty little" and "tender little" rather than the lukewarm compliments "somewhat pretty" and "somewhat tender".

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Number	Singular			Plural
Nominative	ferōculus	ferōcula	ferōculum	ferōculī	ferōculae	ferōcula
Genitive	ferōculī	ferōculae	ferōculī	ferōculōrum	ferōculārum	ferōculōrum
Dative	ferōculō	ferōculae	ferōculō	ferōculīs
Accusative	ferōculum	ferōculam	ferōculum	ferōculōs	ferōculās	ferōcula
Ablative	ferōculō	ferōculā	ferōculō	ferōculīs
Vocative	ferōcule	ferōcula	ferōculum	ferōculī	ferōculae	ferōcula

References

^ Petersen, Walter. 1917. "Latin Diminution of Adjectives. II." Classical Philology, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Jan., 1917), pp. 49-67. (page 51)
^ Adams, J.N. 2005. "The Bellum Africum." Aspects of the Language of Latin Prose, edited by Tobias Reinhardt, Michael Lapidge, and J. N. Adams, pp. 73-96. (page 90)