feral

Definition

Wild; untamed.

Etymology

From Latin fera (“wild beast”, noun) + -al or Latin ferus (“wild; savage; cruel”, adjective) + -al. Alternatively, borrowed from Middle French féral or Late Latin ferālis.

Example Sentences

• "1876 Statistical, Descriptive, And Historical Account Of The North-Western Provinces Of India. Allahabad: North-Western Provinces' Government Press 1876. p XIV, Agra Division The spotted deer, in a truly feral state, has very much the same distribution in Bundelkhand as the sambar, but it is more numerous."
• "Among the ensemble’s strange, outmoded, “original” instruments — the feral horns, sour violins, wooden flutes, cellos without endpins — she seemed right at home, despite her Broadway provenance."
• "In this region, the wild boars can be dangerous, but (perhaps counterintuitively) the feral hogs can be even worse."