Werewolf

[Noelia]

I was wondering about the word "werewolf" describing a creature half-human and half-wolf. In Spanish we say "Hombre Lobo" and it's strange that you don't say "Wolf Man" in English too.

How does the word "were" mean "half human" in this context? I only knew it as plural of "was".

[johnr]

Y aquí tienes la respuesta, gracias a Wikipedia (como siempre).

Etymology

The earliest authenticated written record containing the word "werewolf" is present in Gervase of Tilburys Otia Imperialia written in 1212.[1] Little more than a century later, the 12th century poem The Romance of William and the Werewolf was translated from old French into English in the 14th century.[1] The name most likely derives from Old English wer (or were) and wulf. The first part, wer, translates as "man" (in the sense of male human, not the race of humanity). It has cognates in several Germanic languages including Gothic wair, Old High German wer, and Old Norse verr, as well as in other Indo-European languages, such as Latin vir, Irish fear, Lithuanian vyras, and Welsh gŵr, which have the same meaning. The second half, wulf, is the ancestor of modern English "wolf"; in some cases it also had the general meaning "beast." An alternative etymology derives the first part from Old English weri (to wear); the full form in this case would be glossed as wearer of wolf skin. Related to this interpretation is Old Norse ulfhednar, which denoted lupine equivalents of the berserker, said to wear a bearskin in battle.
Facsimile of the first seven lines of the 14th century English translation of the 12th century French manuscript The Romance of William and the Werewolf
Facsimile of the first seven lines of the 14th century English translation of the 12th century French manuscript The Romance of William and the Werewolf

Yet other sources derive the word from warg-wolf, where warg (or later werg and wero) is cognate with Old Norse vargr, meaning "rogue," "outlaw," or, euphemistically, "wolf".[citation needed] A Vargulf was the kind of wolf that slaughtered many members of a flock or herd but ate little of the kill. This was a serious problem for herders, who had to somehow destroy the rogue wolf before it destroyed the entire flock or herd. Herders would often hang the wolf's hide in the bedroom of a young infant, believing it to give the baby supernatural powers.[citation needed] The term Warg was used in Old English for this kind of wolf (see J. R. R. Tolkien's book The Hobbit) and for what would now be called a serial killer. Possibly related is the fact that, in Norse society, an outlaw (who could be murdered with no legal repercussions and was forbidden to receive aid) was typically called vargr, or "wolf." It is also speculated that werewolves are under the influence of a god who was once a lycanthrope. He visits them in their dreams before transformation and tells them specifically who to feed upon. Some believe it is the spirit of Lycaon, the first werewolf that does this deed.

The Greek term lycanthropy (a compound of which "lyc-" derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *wlkwo-, meaning "wolf") formally denotes the "wolf - man" transformation. Lycanthropy is but one form of therianthropy, the ability to metamorphose into animals in general. The term "therianthrope" literally means "beast-man," from which the words turnskin and turncoat are derived.[citation needed] (Latin: versipellis,[10] Russian : oboroten, O. Norse: hamrammr). The French name for a werewolf, sometimes used in English, is loup-garou, from the Latin noun lupus meaning wolf.[11] The second element is thought to be from Old French garoul meaning "werewolf." This in turn is most likely from Frankish *wer-wulf meaning "man-wolf."[12]

[Noelia]

Impressive, thanks. I take it that you don't use the word "were" in the sense of "man" in modern English anymore if you had to look it up, right?

[johnr]

antes de tu pregunta, no sabía la etimología de la palabra 'werewolf' y no, no sabía lo de la palabra 'were'.

[sendai]

Nope, we don't use "were" in that sense in modern English.

And we do say "wolf man" sometimes, though I think that werewolf is more common.

[Noelia]

Si, creo que alguna vez escuche "wolf man" y tambien me llamo la atencion que no dijeran "werewolf" Pero ahora me recomendaron un libro con hombres lobo y me asalto la duda otra vez.