feral

From Latin fera (“wild beast”, noun) +‎ -al^[1] or Latin ferus (“wild; savage; cruel”, adjective) +‎ -al. Alternatively, borrowed from Middle French féral or Late Latin ferālis.

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɛrəl/, /ˈfɪərəl/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛɹəl, -ɪəɹəl
• Homophones: ferrule, ferryl, Farrell (Mary–marry–merry merger)

feral (comparative more feral, superlative most feral)

1. Wild; untamed.
   • 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.

   1. (of an animal) Wild but descended from domestic or captive ancestors; thus, in the wild, although not necessarily of the wild type.

      In this region, the wild boars can be dangerous, but (perhaps counterintuitively) the feral hogs can be even worse.

   • 1859, Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species:

     This subject has been ably treated by several authors, and I shall, in my future work, discuss some of the checks at considerable length, more especially in regard to the feral animals of South America.

     • 1884 Charles Darwin The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication 2nd ed 1884 Chapter 8, p. 310

       The Guinea fowl has become thoroughly feral in Jamaica and in St. Domingo, and has diminished in size; the legs are black, whereas the legs of the aboriginal African bird are said to be grey. This small change is worth notice on account of the often-repeated statement that all feral animals invariably revert in every character to their original type.

   1. (of a person) Contemptible; unruly; misbehaved.
      • 1792 The Opinion of Naturalists Concerning the Moles as they are Caused in Women's Pregnancy. The Conjuror's Magazine for August 1792. p.130

        This consideration doth afford us no small light in conceiving and judging the manners and qualifications of persons, as hath been observed, that those that have impressions of grapes, or signals of vines on their bodies, are addicted to drunkenness, those who have resemblance on their bodies, or in their countenances of a boar, or any feral creature, participate in the same feral, wild and unmannerly deportment; those having any similitude of a hare, are fearful; of a fox, are cunning; of a wolf, cruel; and so of all other resemblances: and, as from these resemblances, the manners are conjectured, so likewise future events, and fortune good or bad, as shall be noted in due place. Nature is strange in many of her operations; but this is most certain, the party retains the qualities of that animal or thing to which he hath a resemblance.

      • The Conjuror's Magazine for August 1792. p.137

        Palmistry . . .The figure of a semicircle in the quadrangle of the hand, notes a feral shedder of human blood, an implacable merciless spirit....
        Little puncts disorderly in the natural line, shew the worst of manners, and a feral beast-like nature.

   2. (Internet slang) Behaving in an out-of-control way due to enthrallment with a certain thought, behavior, person, etc.
      • 2022 February 15, Stephanie Hoyt, The Magic Between, NineStar Press, →ISBN:

        Miners fans have been going absolutely feral over you, [and] you're also disgustingly talented. People want you to play for them! You had Canadians bitching about you being American born the first time you played for Team USA.

   3. (furry fandom, not comparable) That is a feral character.

      Antonyms: anthro, furry

      Ooh cool, I also have a feral wolf fursona!

feral (plural ferals)

1. A domesticated animal that has returned to the wild; an animal, particularly a domesticated animal, living independently of humans.
   • 1960 May 19, “Notes and Comments: No homes for the pigeons”, in New Scientist, page 1261:

     Although it is not difficult to induce domestic pigeons to nest in boxes fixed to trees, London′s ferals are not yet acclimatized to arboreal holes.

   • 2005, Alexandra Powe Allred, Cats' Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Mysterious Mousers, Talented Tabbies, and Feline Oddities, unnumbered page:

     Traffic, abuse, inhumane traps, and accidental poisoning are other hazards ferals must face. […] In England one gamekeeper claimed to have killed over three hundred ferals, while another brought home pelts to his wife so that she could design rugs from cat skins as a source of secondary income.

   • 2007, Clea Simon, Cries and Whiskers, page 26:

     You trap ferals, neuter them, and give them their rabies shot. Maybe distemper.

   • 2011, Gina Spadafori, Paul D. Pion, Cats for Dummies, unnumbered page:

     If you′ve ever put a saucer of milk out for a hard-luck kitty, or if you′re spending your lunch hour sharing sandwiches with the ferals near your office, this is the chapter for you.

2. (Australia, colloquial) A contemptible young person, a lout, a person who behaves wildly.
3. (Australia, colloquial) A person who has isolated themselves from the outside world; one living an alternative lifestyle.
   • 1995, Bill Metcalf, From Utopian Dreaming to Communal Reality: Cooperative Lifestyles in Australia, page 82:

     The intolerance which was directed towards us during the early years has now shifted to ‘the ferals’ who embrace a new version of nonconformist behaviour that even some of us in their parent′s generation — the Aquarian settlers — don′t like. The ferals are the scapegoats for the drug problems here, and are highly visible since many of them have nowhere to live.

   • 2002, Shane Maloney, Something Fishy, published 2003, page 208:

     A pod of ferals was moving towards the exit, a half-dozen soap-shy, low-tech, bush-dwelling hippies.

   • 2010, Anna Krien, Into The Woods: The Battle For Tasmania's Forests, page 102:

     It′s the rootlessness of the ferals that people don′t seem to trust; their claims of connectedness to all wild places touches a nerve. Even residents of Maydena who want to see the Florentine protected dislike the ratbags′ itinerancy.

4. (furry fandom) A furry character in art or literature which has the appearance of a regular animal (typically quadrupedal), that may or may not be able to communicate with humans or "anthros".

   Antonym: anthro

   The story is about a group of ferals which have to explore the ruins of society after the humans die out.

• Feral in the furry-related sense can refer to both regular animals as well as characters with non-humanoid bodies but still holding other anthropomorphic traits such as intelligence, sapience, ability to communicate, and mannerisms. Intelligent feral characters are often depicted as speaking with other characters, but may only be able to speak with other ferals and not humans or anthros due to a language barrier.

From Latin fērālis (“funereal”), from Proto-Italic *fēz-ālis, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁s (“god, sacred place”).

feral (comparative more feral, superlative most feral)

1. Deadly, fatal.
2. Of or pertaining to the dead, funereal.

Homophone.

feral

1. Misspelling of ferrule.

• flare

Borrowed from a Late Latin ferālis, from Latin ferus (“wild”), or formed from fiero +‎ -al.

• IPA^(key): /feˈɾal/ [feˈɾal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: fe‧ral

feral m or f (masculine and feminine plural ferales)

1. feral

• “feral”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024