savage
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L312137 on Wikidata ↗verb
- attack violently
adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L340141 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈsævɪd͡ʒ/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English savage, from Old French sauvage, salvage (“wild, untamed”), from Late Latin salvāticus, alteration of Latin silvāticus (“wild”, literally “of the woods”), from silva (“forest; grove”). Doublet of sylvatic.
- Wild; not cultivated or tamed.
“a savage wilderness”
“a savage forest”
- Barbaric; not civilized.
“savage manners”
“I obſerv'd a Place where there had been a Fire made, and a Circle dug in the Earth, like a Cockpit, where it is ſuppoſed the Savage Wretches had ſat down to their inhumane Feaſtings upon the Bodies of their Fellow-Creatures.”
- Primitive; lacking complexity or sophistication.
- Fierce and ferocious.
“savage beasts”
“a savage spirit”
- Brutal, vicious, or merciless.
“He gave the dog a savage kick.”
“The woman was killed in a savage manner.”
- Of an insult or person: disrespectful, audacious, and either blunt or sarcastic, in a hilarious way.
“Wow, that was a savage burn. Absolutely no chill.”
“'Oops, I did it again': Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson's deke was so savage it has a name”
- Unpleasant or unfair.
“– I'll see you in detention. – Ah, savage!”
- Great, brilliant, amazing.
- Severe, rude, aggressive.
“– They were so savage to them!”
name
Etymology: * As an English surname of Norman origin, from the adjective savage. Compare Sauvage. * As an Irish surname, from ó Sabháin, also Anglicized as O'Savin; see Savin. * As a Jewish and Slavic surname, Americanized from Savich, Serbo-Croatian Savić. See Savic.
- A surname.
- An unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland.
- A suburban city in Scott County, Minnesota; a suburb of Minneapolis.
- An unincorporated community in Tate County, Mississippi.
- An unincorporated community in Richland County, Montana.
noun
Etymology: From Middle English savage, from Old French sauvage, salvage (“wild, untamed”), from Late Latin salvāticus, alteration of Latin silvāticus (“wild”, literally “of the woods”), from silva (“forest; grove”). Doublet of sylvatic.
- A member of a traditional, nonindustrialised society or indigenous tribe or other group, typically living closely with nature outside of the infrastructure of urbanized civilization.
“'Well, my lord, I don't know,' said Freeman with a sort of jolly sneer; 'we have been dining with the savages.' 'They are not savages, Freeman.' 'Well, my lord, they have not much more clothes, anyhow; and as for knives and forks, there is not such a thing known.'”
“The natives here, even those who seem to be of pare Papuan race, were much more reserved and taciturn than those of Ké. This is probably because I only saw them as yet among strangers and in small parties. One must see the savage at home to know what he really is.”
- An aggressively defiant person.
“Their kids are little savages! One of them bit me the other day.”
- Someone who speaks in an audacious, hilarious, and often sarcastic manner.
“It was on Dec. 29 that TikTok star Liv Pearsall posted a video titled "7 Times Elmo Was an Absolute Savage," in which the star with more than 2.7 million followers lip-synced to various Elmo-ments.”
“"Sometimes they would stay up while she'd have a whole new guy in a relationship," she wrote in a comment. "LMFAO she is a savage."”
- A wild and ferocious beast.
“The torch-eyed ſavage, with growl tremendous, riſing up, diſlocated at one blow the arched neck of Sadit's Arabian ſteed, and brought the unfortunate omrah to the duſt, expiring between his extended claws.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English savage, from Old French sauvage, salvage (“wild, untamed”), from Late Latin salvāticus, alteration of Latin silvāticus (“wild”, literally “of the woods”), from silva (“forest; grove”). Doublet of sylvatic.
- To attack or assault someone or something ferociously or without restraint.
“No matter how anyone might savage me, I should stay strong.”
“But that was only the start, because the Fletchers - (obviously) carrying two torpedo launchers - were only launching half-salvos, so one full wave of torpedoes had driven off the cruisers after having savaged the destroyers, aaand then it was a case of, well, here come twenty-five destroyers, here comes^([sic]) two hundred and fifty torpedoes, hello Japanese battleships, dodge this!”
- To criticise vehemently.
“His latest film was savaged by most reviewers.”
“British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty, or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the mighty so far.”
- To attack with the teeth.
- To make savage.
“Its bloodhounds, savaged by a cross of wolf.”