feral From the Latin ferus, meaning ‘wild’, and adjective applied to a wild or undomesticated organism. In particular, the term is applied to wild strains of an otherwise domesticated species or to an organism that has reverted to a wild condition following escape from captivity, etc. Some authors make these distinctions: wild species, subject to natural selection only; domestic species, subject to selection by humans; and feral species, formerly domestic species which are now, as escapees, subject once again to natural selection.

feral From the Latin ferus, ‘wild’, an adjective applied to a wild or undomesticated organism. In particular, the term is applied to wild strains of an otherwise domesticated species or to an organism that has reverted to a wild condition following escape from captivity, etc. Some authors make these distinctions: wild species, subject to natural selection only; domestic species, subject to selection by humans; and feral species, formerly domestic species which are now, as escapees, subject once again to natural selection.

fe·ral / ˈfi(ə)rəl; ˈferəl/ • adj. (esp. of an animal) in a wild state, esp. after escape from captivity or domestication: a feral cat. ∎  resembling or characteristic of a wild animal: a feral snarl.

feral2 wild, savage. XVII. f. L. ferus, rel. to Gr. thḗr wild beast, Lith. z̆vėris, OSl. zvěrǐ; see -AL1.

feral1 deadly; funereal XVII. — L. fērālis, perh. rel. to fēriæ (see FERIAL).