werewolf
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English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English werwolf, from Old English werewulf, from Proto-West Germanic *werawulf, from Proto-West Germanic *wer (“man”) + *wulf (“wolf”). By surface analysis, were- + wolf. Cognate with Dutch weerwolf, Low German Warwulf, German Werwolf, Danish varulv, Swedish varulv, and even possibly Finnish vironsusi.
Compare also French garou, in loup-garou, French dialectal gairou, varou (“werewolf”), Medieval Latin gerulphus, garulphus (“werewolf”), all from Germanic, probably Frankish *werawulf.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈwɛːwʊlf/, /ˈwɪəwʊlf/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - (US) IPA(key): /ˈwɛəɹwʊlf/, /ˈwɪəɹwʊlf/, /ˈwɜɹwʊlf/
Noun
[edit]werewolf (plural werewolves)
- (mythology) A person who is transformed or can transform into a wolf or a wolflike human, often said to do so during a full moon.
- Synonyms: lycanthrope, man-wolf, wolfman
- Hypernym: turnskin
- Hyponyms: (female werewolf) werewolfess, werewoman, wolfwoman
- Near-synonym: dogman
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]wolflike human
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Further reading
[edit]werewolf on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- James A. H. Murray [et al.], editors (1884–1928), “Werewolf, werwolf”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume X, Part 2 (V–Z), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 319.
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms prefixed with were-
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- en:Mythology
- en:Horror
- en:Mythological creatures
- en:Stock characters
- en:Werewolves