savage

English

Etymology

From Old French sauvage, salvage (“wild, savage, untamed”), from Late Latin salvaticus, alteration of Latin silvaticus (“wild"; literally, "of the woods”), from silva (“forest", "grove”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsævɪdʒ/

• Audio (US)

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Adjective

savage (comparative more savage, superlative most savage)

1. wild; not cultivated
2. barbaric; not civilized
   • 1719- Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

     ...I observed a place where there had been a fire made, and a circle dug in the earth, like a cockpit, where I supposed the savage wretches had sat down to their human feastings upon the bodies of their fellow-creatures.

3. fierce and ferocious
4. brutal, vicious, or merciless

   The woman was killed in a savage manner.

5. (UK, slang) unpleasant or unfair

   I'll see you in detention.

   Ah, savage!

Translations

Wild, not cultivated

• Armenian: վայրի (hy) (vayri) 
• Bulgarian: див (bg) (div) 
• Catalan: salvatge (ca)
• Dutch: wild (nl), barbaars (nl)
• Esperanto: sovaĝa (eo)
• German: wild (de)
• Greek: άγριος (el) (ágrios) m 
• Italian: selvaggio (it)
• Latin: silvestris (la)

• Macedonian: дивјачки (mk) (dívjački)
• Norwegian: vill (no)
• Polish: dziki (pl) m, zdziczały (pl) m
• Portuguese: selvagem (pt)
• Russian: дикий (ru) (díkij) , дикарский (ru) (dikárskij) 
• Serbo-Croatian: divlje (sh)
• Spanish: salvaje (es)
• Swedish: vild (sv)

Barbaric, not civilized

• Armenian: վայրենի (hy) (vayreni) 
• Catalan: salvatge (ca)
• Dutch: barbaars (nl), onbeschaafd (nl), (slang) onbeschoft (nl)
• German: wild (de), wüst (de), unbebaut (de)
• Greek: άγριος (el) (ágrios) m , πρωτόγονος (el) (protógonos) m 
• Italian: selvaggio (it), primitivo (it)
• Latin: ferus (la), saevus (la), crudelis (la), immanis (la)

• Macedonian: дивјачки (mk) (dívjački)
• Norwegian: barbarisk (no)
• Polish: barbarzyński (pl) m, niecywilizowany (pl) m
• Russian: варварский (ru) (varvarskiy) 
• Spanish: salvaje (es)
• Swedish: barbarisk (sv), ociviliserad (sv), okultiverad (sv)

Fierce and ferocious

• Armenian: վայրագ (hy) (vayrag) 
• Esperanto: sovaĝa (eo), feroca (eo)
• German: unbändig (de), rasend (de), wütend (de)
• Greek: άγριος (el) (ágrios) m 
• Italian: brutale (it), crudele (it), feroce (it)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: دڕنده‌

• Latin: immanis (la), ferus (la)
• Macedonian: жесток (mk) (žéstok)
• Norwegian: rasende (no)
• Polish: brutalny (pl) m, bestialski (pl) m, okrutny (pl) m

Brutal, vicious or merciless

• Armenian: վայրագ (hy) (vayrag) 
• Bulgarian: брутален (bg) (brutálen) , безпощаден (bg) (bezposhtáden) 
• Catalan: salvatge (ca)
• German: roh (de), barbarisch (de), grausam (de)
• Greek: άγριος (el) (ágrios) m 
• Italian: impietoso (it), crudele (it)
• Latin: crudelis (la), ferus (la), barbarus (la), inhumanus (la), atrox (la)

• Macedonian: жесток (mk) (žéstok), дивјачки (mk) (dívjački), беспоштеден (mk) (bespóšteden)
• Norwegian: brutal (no), grusom (no)
• Polish: brutalny (pl) m, bestialski (pl) m, okrutny (pl) m, bezlitosny (pl) m
• Russian: беспощадный (ru) (byesposchadnyy) 
• Spanish: salvaje (es)
• Swedish: grym (sv), brutal (sv)

Noun

savage (plural savages)

1. (pejorative) An uncivilized or feral human; a barbarian.
   • 1847, Benjamin Disraeli, Tancred: or The New Crusade, page 251

     'Well, my lord, I don't know,' said Freeman with a sort of jolly sneer; 'we have been dining with the savages.'
     'They are not savages, Freeman.'
     'Well, my lord, they have not much more clothes, anyhow; and as for knives and forks, there is not such a thing known.'

2. (figuratively) A defiant person.

Translations

uncivilized or feral person

• Arabic: متوحش (ar) (mutawáHHish), همجي (ar) (hamajiy)
• Armenian: վայրենի (hy) (vayreni) 
• Catalan: salvatge (ca) m and f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 野蠻人 (cmn), 野蛮人 (cmn) (yěmánrén)

• Czech: divoch (cs) m
• Finnish: villejä (fi) pl
• German: Wilder (de) m, roher Mensch (de) m, Barbar (de) m
• Greek: άγριος (el) (ágrios) m 
• Hungarian: vadember (hu)
• Italian: selvaggio (it) m
• Japanese: 野蛮人 (ja) (やばんじん, yabanjin)

• Korean: 야만인 (ko) (yaman-in) (野蠻人 (ko))
• Latin: barbarus (la), ferus (la)
• Macedonian: дивјак (mk) (dívjak) m
• Norwegian: villmann (no) m
• Polish: dzikus (pl) m
• Portuguese: selvagem (pt) m and f
• Russian: дикарь (ru) (dikár’) m , дикарка (ru) (dikárka) f 
• Serbo-Croatian: divljak (sh) m, divljakinja (sh) f, divljakuša (sh) f
• Swedish: vilde (sv) c, barbar (sv) c
• Tok Pisin: bus kanaka (tpi)
• Vietnamese: người dã man (vi)

defiant person

• Greek: άγριος (el) (ágrios) m 

Verb

savage (third-person singular simple present savages, present participle savaging, simple past and past participle savaged) (transitive)

1. To attack or assault someone or something ferociously or without restraint.
2. (figuratively) To criticise vehemently.

   His latest film was savaged by most reviewers.

3. (of an animal) To attack with the teeth
4. (obsolete, transitive) To make savage.
   • South

     Its bloodhounds, savaged by a cross of wolf.

Translations

To attack or assault someone or something ferociously or without restraint

• German: angreifen (de), anfallen (de), bestürmen (de), herfallen über (de)
• Greek: κατασπαράσσω (el) (katasparásso) 

• Norwegian:

To criticise vehemently

• German: beleidigen (de)
• Greek: καυτηριάζω (el) (kaftiriázo) 

• Norwegian: slakte (no)

To attack with the teeth

• German: beißen (de)

• Greek: καταδαγκώνω (el) (katadagkóno) 

Anagrams

• agaves