savagery

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English savage

Middle English -re, -ri, -rie, -ry, -rye

English -ry

English savagery

From savage + -ry.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsæv.ɪd͡ʒ.ɹɪ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

savagery (countable and uncountable, plural savageries)

1. (uncountable) Savage or brutal behaviour; barbarity.
   • 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 172:

     “For some reason the women have not reverted to savagery so rapidly as the men.”

2. (countable) A violent act of cruelty.
3. Savages collectively; the world of savages.
   • 1927, Havelock Ellis, Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2 (of 6)‎^[1]:

     They spring out of an element of diffused homosexuality which is at least as marked in civilization as it is in savagery.

4. (uncountable) Wild growth of plants.
   • 1990, Brian Leverett, Water Gardens: Step-By-Step to Success, page 9:

     […] they […] made, amongst other features, lead ponds. With their departure these lands once more reverted to savagery; gardening, along with virtually all aspects of culture, disappeared and with it the man-made water gardens.

Derived terms

• semisavagery
• sweet savagery

Translations

being savage — see also savageness

• Armenian: վայրենություն (hy) (vayrenutʻyun)
• Bulgarian: дивачество n (divačestvo)
• Esperanto: sovaĝeco
• Finnish: raakuus (fi)
• French: sauvagerie (fr) f
• German: Wildheit (de) f
• Greek: αγριότητα (el) f (agriótita)

  Ancient Greek: ὠμότης f (ōmótēs)

• Hindi: बर्बरता f (barbartā), क्रूरता f (krūrtā)
• Ido: sovajeso
• Irish: fiántas m
• Latin: saevitia f
• Macedonian: дивјаштво n (divjaštvo)
• Māori: taratutū
• Norwegian: brutalitet m, villskap m
• Polish: dzikość (pl) f
• Portuguese: selvageria (pt) f
• Russian: ди́кость (ru) f (díkostʹ)
• Spanish: selvatiquez m
• Swedish: barbari (sv) n
• Turkish:

  Ottoman Turkish: وحشت (vahşet), وحشیلك (vahşilik)

act of cruelty

• Armenian: վայրենություն (hy) (vayrenutʻyun)
• Bulgarian: свирепост (bg) f (svirepost), жестокост (bg) f (žestokost)
• Finnish: raakuus (fi)
• Greek: αγριότητα (el) f (agriótita)
• Macedonian: дивјаштво n (divjaštvo)
• Norwegian: grusomhet (no) m
• Portuguese: selvageria (pt) f
• Russian: свире́пость (ru) f (svirépostʹ), зве́рство (ru) n (zvérstvo), жесто́кость (ru) f (žestókostʹ)
• Spanish: salvajada (es) f, salvajería (es) f, salvajismo (es) m
• Swedish: grymhet (sv) c