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atrocity (n.)[atrocity 词源字典]: 1530s, from Middle French atrocité or directly from Latin atrocitatem (nominative atrocitas) "cruelty, fierceness, harshness," noun of quality from atrox "fierce, cruel, frightful," from PIE *atro-ek-, from root *ater- "fire" (see atrium) + *okw- "see" (see eye (n.)); thus "of fiery or threatening appearance." The meaning "an atrocious deed" is from 1793.[atrocity etymology, atrocity origin, 英语词源]
ferocity (n.): c. 1600, from French férocité, from Latin ferocitatem (nominative ferocitas) "fierceness," from ferocis, oblique case of ferox "bold, courageous, warlike; fierce, savage, headstrong, cruel," literally "wild-looking," a derivative of ferus "wild" (see fierce) + -ox, -ocem (genitive -ocis), a suffix meaning "looking or appearing" (cognate with Greek ops "eye, sight;" see eye (n.)).
fierce (adj.): mid-13c., "proud, noble, bold, haughty," from Old French fers, fiers, nominative form of fer, fier "strong, overwhelming, violent, fierce, wild; proud, mighty, great, impressive" (Modern French fier "proud, haughty"), from Latin ferus "wild, untamed, uncultivated; waste, desert;" figuratively "wild, uncultivated, savage, cruel," from PIE root *ghwer- "wild; wild animal" (cognates: Greek ther, Old Church Slavonic zveri, Lithuanian zveris "wild beast").

Meaning "ferocious, wild, savage, cruel" of persons is from c. 1300; of beasts from late 14c. Original English sense of "brave, proud" died out 16c., but while this sense was current fierce often was used in English as an epithet (and thus surname), which accounts for the rare instance of a French word entering English in the nominative case. Related: Fiercely; fierceness. In Middle English sometimes also "dangerous, destructive; great, strong; huge (in number)." An early 15c. medical treatise has fers benes for "wild beans."
rage (n.): c. 1300, "madness, insanity; fit of frenzy; anger, wrath; fierceness in battle; violence of storm, fire, etc.," from Old French rage, raige "spirit, passion, rage, fury, madness" (11c.), from Medieval Latin rabia, from Latin rabies "madness, rage, fury," related to rabere "be mad, rave" (compare rabies, which originally had this sense), from PIE *rebh- "violent, impetuous" (cognates: Old English rabbian "to rage"). Similarly, Welsh (cynddaredd) and Breton (kounnar) words for "rage, fury" originally meant "hydrophobia" and are compounds based on the word for "dog" (Welsh ci, plural cwn; Breton ki). In 15c.-16c. it also could mean "rabies." The rage "fashion, vogue" dates from 1785.
acritude: "= acridity", Mid 17th cent.; earliest use found in Robert Gentilis (b. 1590), translator. From classical Latin ācritūdō pungency, bitterness, keenness, energy, harshness, fierceness, cruelty from ācris sharp + -tūdō.