dzikus

Dzikus is a Polish noun with several related but distinct uses, all tracing back to the root dzicz meaning wildness or wilderness. In contemporary standard Polish, the word is primarily used in a colloquial or literary sense rather than as a formal zoological term.

In everyday language, dzikus most often denotes a person who is perceived as uncivilized, rough, or living in a way that ignores social norms. It can carry a pejorative tone, though in some informal contexts it may be used jokingly or affectionately among friends.

In zoological and rural contexts, the standard term for a wild boar is dzik (Sus scrofa). The form dzikus is less common and is usually found in dialectal speech or literary usage. When it appears in reference to animals, it may be used loosely to describe a wild or feral state, but it is not the formal scientific designation. Some informal or folk usages describe feral pigs—domestic pigs that have returned to the wild—as dzikus, though this is not the precise nomenclature.

Etymologically, dzikus is derived from dzicz and has been attested in Polish since the early modern period, evolving as a noun to denote wildness-related concepts and people associated with untamed behavior.

Culturally, the word appears in Polish folklore and literature as a symbol of untamed nature or primal conduct, functioning as a literary device as well as a colloquial descriptor.

See also: dzik, dzicz, wild man.