Meanings
alternative archaic feræ naturæ
- pluralplural onlyUndomesticated animals; wild beasts.
But I am not muzzled yet: they shall find me one of the feræ naturæ.
1792, Thomas Holcroft, Anna St. Ives, vol. IV, letter 711 more example
So soon as the coneys come on his neighbor's land he may kill them, for they are ferae naturae, and he who makes the coney-boroughs has no property in them, and he shall not be punished for the damage which the coneys do in which he has no property, and which the other may lawfully kill.
1597, Decision in Boulston's case, as quoted in Ronald Coase, "The Problem of Social Cost", 1960
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Latinferus
- Englishferae naturae
From Latin ferus and natura, therefore meaning 'of a wild nature'.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
ferae naturae. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ferae%20naturae
“ferae naturae.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ferae%20naturae. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ferae naturae,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ferae%20naturae.
Source: ferae naturae on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.