werewolf
nounUK /ˈwɛːwʊlf/ · US /ˈwɛəɹwʊlf/
Etymology From Middle English werwolf, from Old English werewulf, from Proto-West Germanic *werawulf, from Proto-West Germanic *wer (“man”) + *wulf (“wolf”). Cognate with Dutch weerwolf, Low German Warwulf, German Werwolf, Danish varulv, Swedish varulv, and even possibly Finnish vironsusi. By surface analysis, were- + wolf. * Compare French garou in loup-garou; French dialectal gairou, varou (“werewolf”); Medieval Latin gerulphus, garulphus (“werewolf”); all from Germanic, probably Frankish *werawulf.
1
Fantasy, Human sciences, Mysticism, Mythology, Philosophy, Sciences A person who is transformed or can transform into a wolf or a wolflike human, often said to do so during a full moon.
- Near-synonym: dogman
- Derived terms
- were-, werewolfdom, werewolfery, werewolfess, werewolf girdle, werewolfish, werewolfism, werewolf syndrome, werewolfy