farouche
Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- adj. Distant, repellent , or ill-tempered in manner; unsociable; shy.
This word ultimately comes from the Late Latin ‘forasticus,’ belonging outside.
Examples
“Mirabeau (who was to be the father of the famous orator) was a man of talent, but violent, chimerical and lawless, 'farouche,' as he himself put it.”
Three French Moralists and The Gallantry of France, by Edmund Gosse
“His ascendancy among his countrymen was perfectly undisputed, and being possessed of great muscular strength, with that peculiarly 'farouche' exterior, without which courage is nothing in France, he was in every way calculated for the infamous leadership he assumed.”
“By these she was adored, and loved like a mother almost, for as such the hearty kindly girl showed herself to them; but at home she was alone, farouche and intractable, and did battle with the governesses, and overcame them one after another.”
