■ adjective
1》 fierce, violent, and uncontrolled.
↘cruel and vicious.
2》 primitive; uncivilized.
3》 (of a place) wild; uncultivated.
■ noun
1》 a member of a people regarded as primitive and uncivilized.
2》 a brutal or vicious person.
3》 Heraldry a representation of a bearded and semi-naked man with a wreath of leaves.
■ verb
1》 (especially of a dog) attack ferociously.
2》 criticize brutally.
Derivatives
~ly adverb
~ness noun
~ry noun
Origin
ME: from OFr. sauvage 'wild', from L. silvaticus 'of the woods', from silva 'a wood'.