The quality of being wild, savage, untamed, or fierce in nature or character.
From Latin 'feritas,' derived from 'ferus' (wild, untamed). The term entered English during the medieval and Renaissance periods through theological and philosophical texts discussing human nature versus civilization.
Medieval theologians used 'ferity' to describe humanity's natural wild state before civilization and religion 'tamed' it—it was their way of asking what humans are really like without laws and culture.
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