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wild

/ˈwaɪ̯ld/ adjective

In Latin: ferōx, ferus, silvestris Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about wild at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. Untamed; not domesticated.
    Przewalski's horses are the only remaining wild horses, although there are many feral horses throughout the world.
  2. Especially, being of the wild type: being of an unbroken ancestral line of undomesticated animals, as opposed to being feral, being an undomesticated animal whose ancestors were domesticated.
    Przewalski's horses are the only remaining wild horses, although there are many feral horses throughout the world.
  3. Being in the wild, by any pathway (whether by being of the wild type, by being feral since birth, or by being feral after escape from domesticated life).

adverb

  1. Inaccurately; not on target.
    The javelin flew wild and struck a spectator, to the horror of all observing.
  2. Intended to be synchronized with film or video but recorded separately.
    Let's record it wild.

noun

  1. The undomesticated state of a wild animal.
    After mending the lion's leg, we returned him to the wild.
  2. A wilderness.
  3. Something that is able to stand in for others, such as a particular playing card in a game.

verb

  1. To commit random acts of assault, robbery, and rape in an urban setting, especially as a gang.

Origin

From Middle English weilde, wield, wielde, wijlde, wild, wilde, wyld, wylde, wyled, wyyld, from Old English wilde, from Proto-West Germanic *wilþī, from Proto-Germanic *wilþijaz (“wild”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (“hair; wool”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)