ferine
/ˈfɪəɹaɪn/ adjective, noun
Forms ferines
- adjective (now rare) Pertaining to wild, menacing animals; feral.
- adjective (zoology, obsolete) Belonging to the proposed taxon of bats, carnivorans, and insectivorans.
- noun (zoology, obsolete) A member of the proposed taxon of bats, carnivorans, and insectivorans.
Synonyms
indomite savage tameless feral uplandish untame untamed wild
Etymology
From Latin ferīnus, from fera (“wild animal”). The zoological sense was coined by William Whewell in 1840.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Wild; untamed; savage; as, lions, tigers, wolves, and bears are ferine beasts. Sir M. Hale.
- adjective A wild beast; a beast of prey.
Etymology [L. ferinus, fr. ferus wild. See Fierce.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ferine”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details