Definition of WEREWOLF

werewolf

Meanings

Plural: werewolves

Noun

  • a monster able to change appearance from human to wolf and back again
  • A person who is transformed or can transform into a wolf or a wolflike human, often said to do so during a full moon.

Origin / Etymology

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.

Synonyms

loup-garou, lycanthrope, man-wolf, wolfman

Scrabble Score: 17

werewolf is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
werewolf is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
werewolf is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 18

werewolf is a valid Words With Friends word