The plural form of fera, a Latin or scientific term referring to wild animals or beasts, or an archaic legal term for a wild animal.
From Latin ferae, plural of fera (wild animal, beast). The root is Proto-Indo-European *ghwer- (wild), shared with English 'fierce' and other words about wildness.
In medieval legal documents, ferae had a specific meaning—wild animals belonged to the king, not to landowners, which is why hunting rights were so valuable and fought over.
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