ferae naturae

American  

[fee-ree nuh-toor-ee, -tyoor-ee] / ˈfi ri nəˈtʊər i, -ˈtyʊər i /

adjective

Law.

1. (of animals) wild or undomesticated (domitae naturae ).

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Etymology

Origin of ferae naturae

1655–65; < Latin: literally, of a wild nature

Example Sentences

Coming out of an uncertain past, based on some dark legend of heart-break or blood-shed, they bear no author's name, but are ferae naturae and have the flavor of wild game.

From A History of English Romanticism in the Eighteenth Century by Beers, Henry A. (Henry Augustin)

Lord Salisbury replied that fur seals were wild animals, ferae naturae, and not the property of any individual until captured.

From The United States Since the Civil War by Lingley, Charles Ramsdell

For animals upon which the law sets no value, as a dog or cat, and animals ferae naturae, as a bear or wolf, cannot be considered as estrays.

From Commentaries on the Laws of England Book the First by Blackstone, William, Sir

He didn’t mind any amount of chaff, and devoted himself to the pursuit of ferae naturae with a perseverance which was literally as laid down by the copy-books—its own reward.

From The Fire Trumpet A Romance of the Cape Frontier by Mitford, Bertram

At one end of it, the northern, a patch of the turf was gone—removed by some boy or other creature ferae naturae.

From Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by James, M. R. (Montague Rhodes)