selvaggio

Italian

Alternative forms

• salvaggio (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Occitan salvatge, from Vulgar Latin *salvāticus, from Latin silvāticus (“of the woods”). Doublet of the inherited selvatico. Compare Spanish salvaje, Portuguese selvagem, Catalan salvatge.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /selˈvad.d͡ʒo/, [s̪el̺ˈvädd͡ʒo̞]
• Rhymes: -addʒo
• Hyphenation: sel‧vàg‧gio

Adjective

1. (of flora or fauna) wild, savage
   • 1321, Dante Alighieri, La divina commedia: Inferno [The Divine Comedy: Hell], 12th edition (paperback), Le Monnier, published 1994, Canto I, page 6, lines 4–6:

     Ahi quanto a dir qual era è cosa dura ¶ esta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte ¶ che nel pensier rinova la paura!

     Ah me! how hard a thing it is to say what was this forest savage, rough, and stern, which in the very thought renews the fear

   Synonym: selvatico

2. (of people) savage, primitive
3. ferocious
4. brutal, cruel (torture)

Noun

selvaggio m (plural selvaggi)

1. savage

Derived terms

• selvaggiamente

Related terms

• selvatico