Where does “feral” come from?
Feral comes from Middle French féral, from Old French fer, from Latin ferus meaning wild, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰwer-.
feral (English): Wild, untamed, especially of domesticated animals...
Definitions
- Wild, untamed, especially of domesticated animals...
Ancestry of “feral”, step by step
feral traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle French féral
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle French | féral | — |
| 2 | Old French | fer | iron; sword; cruel; harsh |
| 3 | Latin | ferus | wild, savage; uncivilized, uncultivated; untamed,... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰwer- | wild; wild animal |
via Late Latin feralis
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Late Latin | feralis | of or belonging to the dead or to corpses,... |
| 2 | Proto-Italic | fēzālis | — |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰéh₁s | god, godhead, deity; sacred place |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰeh₁- | to do, put, place |
Words derived from “feral”