fervor

English

Alternative forms

• fervour (Commonwealth)

Etymology

From Middle English fervour, from Old French, from Latin fervor (“a boiling or raging heat, heat, vehemence, passion”), from fervere (“to boil, be hot”); see fervent.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɜː.və/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɝ.vɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

fervor (countable and uncountable, plural fervors)

1. (American spelling) An intense, heated emotion; passion, ardor.

   The coach trains his water polo team with fervor.

2. (American spelling) A passionate enthusiasm for some cause.
3. (American spelling) Heat.

Synonyms

• (passionate enthusiasm): fire in the belly, zeal

Derived terms

• fervorent
• fervorless
• fervorous

Related terms

• fervent
• fervid
• fever

Translations

intense, heated emotion; passion, ardor

• Bulgarian: плам (bg) (plam), страст (bg) f (strast)
• Catalan: fervor m or f, ardor (ca) m or f

  Mandarin: 熱情 / 热情 (zh) (rèqíng), 热情 (zh) (rèqíng)

• Chinese:
• Czech: zápal (cs) m, nadšení (cs) n, vášeň (cs) f, vřelost f
• Finnish: palo (fi)
• French: ferveur (fr) f
• German: Inbrunst (de) f, Eifer (de) m, Begeisterung (de) f
• Japanese: 熱情 (ja) (ねつじょう, netsujō), 情熱 (ja) (じょうねつ, jōnetsu), 気勢 (ja) (きせい, kisei), 意気込み (ja) (いきごみ, ikigomi)
• Macedonian: жар (žar), страст (strast)
• Maori: wana
• Middle English: fervour
• Norwegian: brennende iver
• Occitan: fervor (oc) f, ardor (oc) f
• Ottoman Turkish: حرارت (hararet)
• Persian: جوشش (fa) (jušeš)
• Portuguese: fervor (pt) m
• Romanian: fervoare (ro) f, ardoare (ro) f
• Russian: рве́ние (ru) n (rvénije), пыл (ru) m (pyl), жар (ru) m (žar), усе́рдие (ru) n (usérdije)
• Serbo-Croatian: žȃr (sh) m, gòrljivōst (sh) f, zános (sh) m
• Spanish: fervor (es) m, ardor (es) m, acaloramiento (es) m, apasionamiento (es) m
• Turkish: tutku (tr)

passionate enthusiasm for some cause

• Bulgarian: разпаленост (bg) f (razpalenost)
• Catalan: fervor
• Czech: zápal (cs) m, nadšení (cs) n
• Finnish: palo (fi)
• German: Leidenschaft (de) f
• Irish: díograis f
• Macedonian: жар (žar), страст (strast)
• Middle English: fervour
• Ottoman Turkish: حرارت (hararet)
• Persian: جوشش (fa) (jušeš)
• Portuguese: fervor (pt) m
• Romanian: fervoare (ro) f
• Russian: страсть (ru) f (strastʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: žȃr (sh) m, gòrljivōst (sh) f, zános (sh) m
• Swedish: nit (sv)
• Turkish: tutku (tr)

heat

• Armenian: տապ (hy) (tap)
• Bulgarian: жега (bg) f (žega), зной (bg) m (znoj)
• Middle English: fervour
• Ottoman Turkish: حرارت (hararet)
• Russian: жара́ (ru) f (žará), зной (ru) m (znoj), жар (ru) m (žar)
• Turkish: hararet (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} ferveur (fr) (f), ^{(please verify)} émoi (fr) (m)
• Urdu: ^{(please verify)} سرفروش (n)

Further reading

• “fervor”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “fervor”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “fervor”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• frover

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin fervōrem. First attested in the 14th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [fərˈbor]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [fərˈvo]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [feɾˈvoɾ]

Noun

fervor m or (archaic or poetic) f (plural fervors)

1. fervor

Derived terms

• fervorós

Related terms

• fervent

Further reading

• “fervor”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April
• “fervor” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “fervor” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Galician

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin fervōrem.

Noun

fervor m (plural fervores)

1. fervor (passionate enthusiasm)
2. the act of boiling

   Synonym: fervura

Related terms

• afervoar
• fervoroso

Further reading

• “fervor”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025
• “fervor” in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (2014).

Latin

Etymology

From ferveō +‎ -or.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈfɛr.wɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈfɛr.vor]

Noun

fervor m (genitive fervōris); third declension

1. boiling heat
2. fermenting
3. ardour, passion, fury
4. intoxication

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	fervor	fervōrēs
genitive	fervōris	fervōrum
dative	fervōrī	fervōribus
accusative	fervōrem	fervōrēs
ablative	fervōre	fervōribus
vocative	fervor	fervōrēs

Descendants

• → Catalan: fervor
• → French: ferveur
• → Galician: fervor
• → Italian: fervore
• → Occitan: fervor
• → Portuguese: fervor
• → Spanish: fervor

References

• “fervor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “fervor”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• fervor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Middle English

Noun

fervor

1. Alternative form of fervour

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin fervor. Attested from the 14th century.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

Noun

fervor f (plural fervors)

1. fervor

   Synonym: ardor

Related terms

• fervent
• fervorós

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin fervōrem.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /feʁˈvoʁ/ [feɦˈvoh]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /feʁˈvoʁ/ [feɦˈvoh]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /feɾˈvoɾ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /feʁˈvoʁ/ [feʁˈvoχ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /feɻˈvoɻ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /fɨɾˈvoɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /fɨɾˈvoɾ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /fɨɾˈboɾ/ [fɨɾˈβoɾ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /fɨɾˈvo.ɾi/

• Hyphenation: fer‧vor

Noun

fervor m (plural fervores)

1. fervour (passionate enthusiasm)

Related terms

• fervente
• fervoroso

Further reading

• “fervor”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin fervōrem. Doublet of hervor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /feɾˈboɾ/ [feɾˈβ̞oɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: fer‧vor

Noun

fervor m (plural fervores)

1. fervor

   Synonym: ardor

Related terms

• ferviente
• fervoroso

Further reading

• “fervor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10