Wildling

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A being who thrives in natural environments and is viewed as unrefined and untamed
2. An individual who dwells in untamed natural areas and is considered untrained in societal customs
3. Someone who lives away from developed society, associated with primal or uncultivated ways

Etymology: "Wildling" is built from two parts that each carry their own history. The first, "wild," comes from Old English "wilde," meaning untamed or living in its natural state. The second, "-ling," is a suffix meaning "descendant" or "one belonging to," the same ending found in "duckling" and "foundling." Put together, the word literally describes something that belongs to the wild, a creature or person born of uncultivated surroundings rather than shaped by settled life. The suffix is the key to how the word works. Words ending in "-ling" often refer to the young or the offspring of something, and this sense of origin remains even when the thing described is an adult human. A "wildling" is therefore defined less by behavior than by lineage: a person who comes from, and is still rooted in, the wild. The word has a close relative in Dutch, "wildeling," which is cognate with the English form but does not share its exact meaning, so the two should not be assumed to mean the same thing.

Synonyms: savage, untamed, feral

Antonyms: tame, domesticated