ferrĕus — Lewis & Short
ferrĕus, a, um, adj.ferrum,
I made of iron, iron.
I Lit.:
Britanni utuntur aut aere aut taleis ferreis ... pro nummo,Caes. B. G. 5, 12, 4:
vomer,Lucr. 1, 314:
ensis,id. 5, 1293:
furcae,Varr. R. R. 1, 22, 3; for which absol.:
ferreae,Cato, R. R. 10, 3:
clavi,Caes. B. G. 3, 13, 4:
hami,id. ib. 7, 73 fin.:
manus,id. B. C. 1, 57, 2; 1, 58, 4; 2, 6, 2:
clathri,Plin. 8, 7, 7, § 21:
fibula,Quint. 6, 3, 58:
anulus,id. 7, 6, 8; cf. Plin. 33, 1, 4, § 9; Suet. Aug. 100:
litterae imagunculae,id. ib. 7:
Hercules,an iron statue of Hercules, Plin. 34, 14, 40, § 141.—Poet.: hastati spargunt hastas, fit ferreus imber, Enn. ap. Macr. S. 6, 1 (Ann. v. 287 ed. Vahl.);
imitated: imber,Verg. A. 12, 284; cf.:
seges telorum,id. ib. 3, 45:
ager,i. e. glistening with weapons, id. ib. 11, 601.—
B Transf., like or pertaining to iron:
color,iron-color, Plin. 37, 10, 61, § 170:
fabrica,the art of working iron, id. 7, 56, 57, § 198.—
II Trop.
A Hard, unfeeling, hard-hearted, cruel:
qui virtutem duram et quasi ferream esse quandam volunt (opp. tenera atque tractabilis),Cic. Lael. 13, 48; cf.:
quis tam fuit durus et ferreus, quis tam inhumanus, qui? etc.,Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 46, § 121; and:
ferreus essem, si te non amarem,id. Fam. 15, 21, 4:
ferus et ferreus,id. Q. Fr. 1, 3, 3:
ferus et vere ferreus,Tib. 1, 10, 2:
quis tam esset ferreus, qui, etc.,Cic. Lael. 23, 87:
o te ferreum, qui illius periculis non moveris!id. Att. 13, 30, 2:
illa (carmina) tamen numquam ferrea dixit Amo,Prop. 2, 8, 12; Tib. 2, 3, 2; 3, 2, 2:
praecordia,Ov. H. 12, 183:
bella,id. ib. 13, 64:
sors vitae (with difficilis),id. Tr. 5, 3, 28:
os ferreum,shameless, impudent, Cic. Pis. 26, 63: ferrea tum vero proles exorta repente est, i. e. the iron age, Cic. poët. N. D. 2, 63, 159; cf.
saecula,Tib. 2, 3, 35.—
B With the idea of firmness, fixedness predominating, firm, fixed, rigid, unyielding, immovable:
(Cato) in parsimonia, in patientia laboris periculique, ferrei prope corporis animique,Liv. 39, 40, 11:
vox,Verg. G. 2, 44; id. A. 6, 626; cf.: scriptor (Atilius), Licin. poët. ap. Cic. Fin. 1, 2, 5:
jura,Verg. G. 2, 501: olli dura quies oculos et ferreus urget Somnus, ironsleep, i. e. death (a transl. of the Homeric xa/lkeos u(/pnos), Verg. A. 10, 745; 12, 309:
decreta Sororum,Ov. M. 15, 781.