david_carnell Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Could someone explain the etymology of the word > "fierce" when applied to people please. > > I keep hearing it used in a positive sense and > have no idea how, what, when or why. I feel old. It was used in the Irish community as a term of approval or disapproval, but more often as an emphasiser. So a a good evening would be one where the 'craic' had been 'fierce', a less successful one might be described as 'fierce bad'. A rainy day which prevented a fellow from working might elicit the comment 'Feckin' weather is fierce altogether'. That was my experience anyway, maybe it was a local thing. American gay men use it as a term of approval these days.