were·wolf

also wer·wolf (wâr′wo͝olf′, wîr′-, wûr′-)

A person believed to have been transformed into a wolf or to be capable of assuming the form of a wolf.

[Middle English, from Old English werewulf : wer, man; see wī-ro- in Indo-European roots + wulf, wolf; see wolf.]

Word History: The meaning wolf in werewolf is current English; the were is not. Werewulf, "werewolf," occurs only once in Old English, about the year 1000, in the laws of King Canute: "lest the madly ravenous werewolf too savagely tear or devour too much from a godly flock." The wer- or were- in wer(e)wulf means "man"; it is related to Latin vir with the same meaning, the source of virile and virility. Both the Germanic and the Latin words derive from Indo-European *wīro-, "man." Wer- also appears, though much disguised, in the word world. World is first recorded (written wiaralde) in Old English in a charter dated 832; the form worold occurs in Beowulf. The Old English forms come from Germanic *wer-ald-, "were-eld" or "man-age." The transfer of meaning from the age of humans to the place where they live has a parallel in the Latin word saeculum, "age, generation, lifetime," later "world."

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

werewolf

(ˈwɪəˌwʊlf; ˈwɛə-)

n, pl -wolves

(European Myth & Legend) a person fabled in folklore and superstition to have been changed into a wolf by being bewitched or said to be able to assume wolf form at will

[Old English werewulf, from wer man + wulf wolf; related to Old High German werwolf, Middle Dutch weerwolf]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

were•wolf

or wer•wolf

(ˈwɛərˌwʊlf, ˈwɪər-, ˈwɜr-)

n., pl. -wolves (-ˌwʊlvz)

(in folklore) a person who has assumed the form of a wolf.

[before 1000; Middle English werwolf, Old English werwulf=wer man (c. Gothic wair, Latin vir) + wulf wolf; c. Middle Dutch weerwolf, Old High German werwolf]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

werewolf - a monster able to change appearance from human to wolf and back again

loup-garou, lycanthrope, wolfman

mythical creature, mythical monster - a monster renowned in folklore and myth

Translations

vlkodlak

varulv

Werwolf

λυκάνθρωπος

lupfantomo

licántropolobizónhombre lobo

libahunt

ihmissusi

garou loup-garou lycanthrope

vukodlak

farkasembervérfarkas

varúlfur

licantropo lupo mannaro

weerwolf

varulv

wilkołak

licantropo lobisomem

pricolici

оборотень волкулак

vlkolak

varulv

werewolf

[ˈwɪəwʊlf] N (werewolves (pl)) → hombre m lobo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

werewolf

[ˈwɛə^rwʊlf ˈwɪə^rwʊlf] [werewolves] (pl) n → loup-garou m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

werewolf

n → Werwolf m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

werewolf

[ˈwɪəˌwʊlf] n (-wolves (pl)) → licantropo, lupo mannaro (fam)

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Greatly perplexed, they consulted the local priest, who told them that their captive was undoubtedly a werewolf and had resumed its human for during the night.

View in context

I should like to tell you of Guy of Warwick, of King Horn, of William and the Werewolf, and of many others.

View in context

I must say they were not cheering to me, for amongst them were "Ordog"--Satan, "Pokol"--hell, "stregoica"--witch, "vrolok" and "vlkoslak"--both mean the same thing, one being Slovak and the other Servian for something that is either werewolf or vampire.

View in context

With countless dangers at every turn a twisted vampire queen, a bloodthirsty Coven, and a power-hungry werewolf king who will stop at nothing to dominate the magical world Emily's courage will be tested.

Shadow Pact

The Werewolf Academy is a story about werewolves letting themselves becoming known to the public in general and the resulting extremist terrorism against the species.

The Werewolf Academy Series Boxed Set

A werewolf called Old Stinker is also believed to roam the nearby Wolds.

8ft werewolf approached me on lane

To our minds, he is a 'classic' serial killer - but back in medieval times, there was no concept of a serial killer and so the authorities believed he was a werewolf because his crimes were so horrific.

Inside story The Wolf Trial by Neil Mackay; BOOKCLUB; Every week we bring you book news, reviews and interviews. Today, we shine the spotlight on a wickedly good ebook series, and author Neil Mackay reveals how a teenage fascination led to a killer read inspired by astonishing events from the past

Regular readers of my books will know that a werewolf has been reported in the Speke and Halewood areas for centuries, and many years ago something described as 'half-man, half beast' was hastily interred at Flaybrick Hill Cemetery after causing havoc on Bidston Hill.

TALES FROM THE PAST

"They definitely develop their own identities," says Das, "The trouble begins when they become too much like their prey." In The Devourers , it's the Norse werewolf named Fenrir who creates trouble for him and his companions -- Gevaudan from France and Makedon from Greece -- when he falls for his human prey.

IN LUPINE TERRITORY

These are precisely the goals of this essay on the literary werewolf tales published in Quebec in the late nineteenth century.

The Changing Shape of a Shape-Shifter: The French-Canadian Loup-garou

Last week, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez presided over the lighting of Chanukah candles with the Tawil family, whose son Yair was, according to urban legend, prevented from turning into a werewolf when the president adopted him as godson Fernandez adopted the Jewish 21-year-old from a Chabad family as grandson, as part of a superstition turned tradition about werewolves.

Argentinian President Adopts Jew to Counter Werewolf Curse