Definition for SAV'AGE

SAV'AGE, a. [Fr. sauvage; Arm. savaich; It. selvaggio; Sp. salvage; from L. silva, a wood, or silvicola, an inhabitant of a wood, or silvaticus.]

  1. Pertaining to the forest; wild; remote from human residence and improvements; uncultivated; as, a savage wilderness. Cornels and savage berries of the wood. – Dryden.
  2. Wild; untamed; as, savage beasts of prey.
  3. Uncivilized; untaught; unpolished; rude; as, savage life; savage manners. – Ralegh. What nation since the commencement of the Christian era, ever rose from savage to civilized without Christianity? – E. D. Griffin.
  4. Cruel; barbarous; fierce; ferocious; inhuman; brutal; as, a savage spirit.

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