ferrum

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

substratebor.

Old Latin *fersom

Latin ferrumlbor.

English ferrum

Learned borrowing from Latin ferrum.

Noun

ferrum (countable and uncountable, plural ferrums)

(homeopathy) Any of various remedies made from iron-containing compounds.

Translations

A homeopathic remedy made from an iron-containing compound

Latin

ferrum on Latin Wikipedia

Chemical element ^(edit)

Fe
Atomic number 26
ferrum

Classification data

Period	4
Group	8
Block	d-block
Class	transition metal

Previous: ← manganum (Mn)

Next: cobaltum (Co) →

Latin Wikipedia article on Ferrum

Etymology

Inherited from Old Latin *fersom,^[1] borrowed from substrate language, of an unknown source.

According to De Vaan, possibly from a Phoenician dialect;^[2] see 𐤁𐤓𐤆𐤋 (brzl /⁠barzel⁠/, “iron”), akin to Hebrew בַּרְזֶל (barzél), Aramaic פַּרְזְלָא, ܦܪܙܠܐ (parzəlā, “iron”), Akkadian 𒀭𒁇 (parzillum, “iron”), Ugaritic 𐎁𐎗𐎏𐎍 (brḏl, “iron”), considered of Anatolian origin.^[3] The word could have entered Latin through Etruscan.^[1]

Compare typologically ornus (“rowan tree; lance”).

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈfɛr.rũː]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈfɛr.rum]

Noun

ferrum n (genitive ferrī); second declension

iron
(metonymic) any tool made of iron
Synonym: chalybs
sword
Urbi ferrō flammā que minitātus est.
He threatened the city with fire and sword.

Ferro incumbere.
To fall on his sword.

Hyponyms: ēnsis, gladius
- 63 BCE, Cicero, In Catilinam orationes 1.9:
  Hōs ego videō cōnsul et dē rē pūblicā sententiam rogō, et quōs ferrō trucīdārī oportēbat, eōs nōndum vōce volnerō!
  I, as consul, see these [men], and I ask their opinion about the republic, and those whom it was proper to slaughter with the sword, I don’t yet wound them even with a word!
  (Ablative of means; exemplifies synecdoche: a part, “iron,” refers to a whole, “sword.”)
fight, clash
- c. 27 CE – 66 CE, Petronius, Satyricon 45.6:
  Non est miscix. ferrum optimum daturus est, sine fuga, carnarium in medio, ut amphitheater videat.
  He is no flibbertigibbet, he will give the best fight, without flight, a carnage in the middle, so that the whole amphitheater will see it.
- c. 161, Dig. XXVIII.I.8.4 Gaius libro septimo decimo ad edictum provinciale
  Hi vero, qui ad ferrum aut ad bestias aut in metallum damnantur, libertatem perdunt bonaque eorum publicantur: unde apparet amittere eos testamenti factionem.
  But those sentenced to fight in the arena or with the beasts or to work in the mines lose freedom and their assets are forfeited: hence one sees that the efficacy of their last will must be denied.
Synonyms: pugna, gladius

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

	singular	plural
nominative	ferrum	ferra
genitive	ferrī	ferrōrum
dative	ferrō	ferrīs
accusative	ferrum	ferra
ablative	ferrō	ferrīs
vocative	ferrum	ferra

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

Insular Romance:
- Sardinian: ferru (most dialects), erru
Balkano-Romance:
- Aromanian: her, heru, hjeru
- Istro-Romanian: fljer
- Megleno-Romanian: ier, ieru
- Romanian: fier, fer (regional)
Italo-Dalmatian:
- Corsican: ferru, farru
- Dalmatian: fiar
- Istriot: fièro
- Italian: ferro
  - →? Sabir: ferro
- Judeo-Italian: פֵֿירוֹ (p̄ero /⁠ferro⁠/)
- Neapolitan: fierro
  - Tarantino: fierro
- Sicilian: ferru
- Venetan: fero
Rhaeto-Romance:
- Friulian: fiêr
- Ladin: fer
- Romansh: fier
Gallo-Italic:
- Emilian: fèr
- Ligurian: færo
- Lombard: fèr
- Piedmontese: fer
- Romagnol: fër
Gallo-Romance:
- Northern:
  - Franco-Provençal: fèr, fèrro, fa, far, farou, fè, fê
  - Old French: fer
    - Middle French: fer
      - French: fer (see there for further descendants)
    - Norman: fé (France, Jersey), faer (Guernsey), fer (Sark)
    - Walloon: fier
- Southern:
  - Occitan: fèrre, ferri, fèr
    Gascon: hèr
  - Old Catalan: ferr, ferre, ferro
    - Catalan: ferro
Ibero-Romance:
- Old Galician-Portuguese: ferro
  - Fala: ferru
  - Galician: ferro
  - Portuguese: ferro (see there for further descendants)
- Old Leonese: fierru
  - Asturian: fierro, fierru, ḥierru, ḥierro
  - Extremaduran: hierru
  - Leonese: fierru
  - Mirandese: fierro
- Old Navarro-Aragonese: fierro
  - Aragonese: fierro
    Ribagorçan: ferri
- Old Spanish: fierro
  - Ladino: fierro
  - Spanish: hierro, fierro
    - Papiamentu: heru
Borrowings:
- → English: ferrum
- → Malay: ferum
- → Translingual: Fe

References

“ferrum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“ferrum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
"ferrum", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
“ferrum”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[2], London: Macmillan and Co.
- to cut one's way (through the enemies' ranks): ferro viam facere (per confertos hostes)
- to ravage with fire and sword: omnia ferro ignique, ferro atque igni or ferro flammaque vastare
- to fight a pitched battle: acie (armis, ferro) decernere
- all have perished by the sword: omnia strata sunt ferro
- (ambiguous) to fly aloft; to be carried into the sky: sublimem or sublime (not in sublime or sublimiter) ferri, abire
- (ambiguous) to be in every one's mouth: per omnium ora ferri
- (ambiguous) to feel an attraction for study: trahi, ferri ad litteras
- (ambiguous) to feel inspired: divino quodam instinctu concitari, ferri (Div. 1. 31. 66)
- (ambiguous) to take a higher tone (especially of poets and orators): exsurgere altius or incitatius ferri
- (ambiguous) to be carried away by one's passions: libidine ferri
- (ambiguous) to be carried away by something: praecipitem ferri aliqua re (Verr. 5. 46. 121)
- (ambiguous) to have no principles: caeco impetu ferri
- (ambiguous) to throw oneself heart and soul into politics: studio ad rem publicam ferri
- (ambiguous) to throw oneself on the enemy with drawn sword: strictis gladiis in hostem ferri
“ferrum”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
“ferrum”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Klein, Dr. Ernest (1966-1967), “farrier”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary Of The English Language‎^[1], eighth impression, Amsterdam: Elsevier, published 2003, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 274, column 1.
^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 214
^ Olmo Lete, Gregorio del with Sanmartín, Joaquín and Watson, Wilfred G. E. (2015), “ferrum”, in A Dictionary of the Ugaritic Language in the Alphabetic Tradition (Handbook of Oriental Studies; 112), 3rd edition, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 234

[CEDEL-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Klein, Dr. Ernest (1966-1967), “farrier”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary Of The English Language‎^[1], eighth impression, Amsterdam: Elsevier, published 2003, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 274, column 1.

[2] De Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 214

[3] Olmo Lete, Gregorio del with Sanmartín, Joaquín and Watson, Wilfred G. E. (2015), “ferrum”, in A Dictionary of the Ugaritic Language in the Alphabetic Tradition (Handbook of Oriental Studies; 112), 3rd edition, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 234

[1]

[2]

[3]