Furo - usage

Question

furo [foo’-ro, rah]

adjective

1. Shy, reserved.

2. Ferocious, fierce; severe

This is confusing. How would one use this word? The two definitions are almost opposite.

Answer 1

You are right, it has two meanings.

The first one is most likely the one you are looking for. On the Spanish Dict definition page for furo, the second definition has "Provincial" written beside it. That means that it is used locally with that second definition.

Looking at the RAE, or the official Spanish Dictionary for the Spanish language, the regions that the "fierce" or "ferocious" definition is used are Álava, Aragón and Navarra. Those are all regions in Spain. So if the text you found this in is from Spain, then check to see where the author is from.

However, also on the RAE definition, it seems that the first definition of "timid" is when it is applied to a human being. But when it is applied to an animal, it means "untamed" or "ferocious."

But you are right. They do seem pretty opposite!

Muy interesante, Missy. Creo que nunca he usado esa palabra. ¡Ya he aprendido algo más del español! :) - Cordobesa, Mar 13, 2012

Answer 2

good job missy

Thanks! - missy8888, Mar 14, 2012