Fervour

/ˈfɜːrvər/ noun

Definition

Intense, passionate, and enthusiastic emotion or belief about something.

Etymology

From Latin 'fervor' meaning 'heat' or 'boiling.' The Romans used this word literally for heat and hot liquids, but medieval Latin speakers extended it to mean the 'heat' of passion or intensity of feeling. This spelling with 'u' is the British version; Americans spell it 'fervor.'

Kelly Says

The brilliant metaphor buried in 'fervour' is that passion is like heat—when you're really excited about something, we literally say you're 'hot under the collar' or 'fired up,' and this word comes directly from that ancient connection between heat and emotion.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.