werewolf

English

Alternative forms

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.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈwɛːwʊlf/, /ˈwɪəwʊlf/
    • Audio (Southern England); /ˈwɛːwʊlf/:(file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈwɛəɹwʊlf/, /ˈwɪəɹwʊlf/, /ˈwɜɹwʊlf/

Noun

werewolf (plural werewolves)

  1. (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

Translations

Further reading