What is "werewolf"

Werewolf \Were"wolf`\, n.; pl. Werewolves. [AS. werwulf; wer a man + wulf a wolf; cf. G. w["a]rwolf, w["a]hrwolf, wehrwolf, a werewolf, MHG. werwolf. [root]285. See Were a man, and Wolf, and cf. Virile, World.] A person transformed into a wolf in form and appetite, either temporarily or permanently, whether by supernatural influences, by witchcraft, or voluntarily; a lycanthrope. Belief in werewolves, formerly general, is not now extinct.

The werwolf went about his prey.
--William of Palerne.

The brutes that wear our form and face, The werewolves of the human race.
--Longfellow.

late Old English werewulf "person with the power to turn into a wolf," from wer "man, male person" (see virile) + wulf (see wolf (n.); also see here for a short discussion of the mythology). Belief in them was widespread in the Middle Ages. Similar formation in Middle Dutch weerwolf, Old High German werwolf, Swedish varulf. In the ancient Persian calendar, the eighth month (October-November) was Varkazana-, literally "(Month of the) Wolf-Men."

n. (context lang=en mythology) A person who is transformed or can transform into a wolf or a wolflike human, often said to transform during a full moon.

1. n. a monster able to change appearance from human to wolf [syn: wolfman, lycanthrope]

2. [also: werewolves (pl)]

A werewolf (from , "man"), man-wolf, or lycanthrope (, lykánthropos: , lykos, "wolf", and , anthrōpos, "human") is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse or affliction (e.g. via a bite or scratch from another werewolf). Early sources for belief in lycanthropy are Petronius (27–66) and Gervase of Tilbury (1150–1228).

The werewolf is a widespread concept in European folklore, existing in many variants, which are related by a common development of a Christian interpretation of underlying European folklore developed during the medieval period. From the early modern period, werewolf beliefs also spread to the New World with colonialism. Belief in werewolves developed in parallel to the belief in witches, in the course of the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. Like the witchcraft trials as a whole, the trial of supposed werewolves emerged in what is now Switzerland (especially the Valais and Vaud) in the early 15th century and spread throughout Europe in the 16th, peaking in the 17th and subsiding by the 18th century. The persecution of werewolves and the associated folklore is an integral part of the "witch-hunt" phenomenon, albeit a marginal one, accusations of werewolfery being involved in only a small fraction of witchcraft trials. During the early period, accusations of lycanthropy (transformation into a wolf) were mixed with accusations of wolf-riding or wolf-charming. The case of Peter Stumpp (1589) led to a significant peak in both interest in and persecution of supposed werewolves, primarily in French-speaking and German-speaking Europe. The phenomenon persisted longest in Bavaria and Austria, with persecution of wolf-charmers recorded until well after 1650, the final cases taking place in the early 18th century in Carinthia and Styria.

After the end of the witch-trials, the werewolf became of interest in folklore studies and in the emerging Gothic horror genre; werewolf fiction as a genre has pre-modern precedents in medieval romances (e.g. Bisclavret and Guillaume de Palerme) and developed in the 18th century out of the "semi-fictional" chap book tradition. The trappings of horror literature in the 20th century became part of the horror and fantasy genre of modern pop culture.

A werewolf, in folklore, is a person who changes into a wolf.

Werewolf may also refer to:

Werewolf is a fictional superhero/ secret agent that appeared in comics published by Dell Comics. Werewolf was part of Dell Comic's attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the Universal Pictures monsters (the other two were Dracula and Frankenstein). Werewolf first appeared in Werewolf #1 (December 1966).

Werewolves have featured a number of times in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its other media tie-ins. The various media may not even be consistent with respect to each other.

Werewolf (also known as Arizona Werewolf) is a 1996 American direct-to-video horror film by Iranian-born director Tony Zarindast. It is best known for being lampooned in a 1998 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, werewolves were servants of Morgoth, bred from wolves and inhabited by dreadful spirits (fallen lesser Maiar or fëa of Orcs).

They were thought of by Sauron, who was their master and took the shape of a great wolf himself at least once. The Middle-earth werewolves were not shape-shifters like the werewolves of European mythology — they were always in the form of beasts, or at least partially so. The name werewolf appears to have been chosen because they were in essence sentient (but evil), and thus had a status beyond that of normal wolves.

The first werewolf was Draugluin, and the greatest wolf was Carcharoth, the guardian of Angband, a descendant of Draugluin as all other werewolves were. Huan the Hound of Valinor, while also sentient, was not a werewolf. These creatures all lived in the First Age of Middle-earth and are mentioned in various versions of Tolkien's Silmarillion mythology.

It is probable that the Wargs of the Third Age were descended from the werewolves, as these wolves could speak, suggesting they had fëa. Another possibility is that Sauron attempted to recreate the werewolves after his return to Middle-earth, and that the Wargs were the result.

Werewolves are briefly mentioned by Gandalf the Grey in The Fellowship of the Ring, who tells Frodo Baggins that "not all of Sauron's servants and chattels are wraiths; there are Orcs and Trolls, there are Wargs and werewolves." It would seem then that werewolves (or at least their legend) survived into later ages of Middle-earth.

Werewolf is an American horror series, and one of the original shows in the Fox network's broadcast line-up during its inaugural season of 1987–1988.

The show follows the adventures of Eric Cord ( John J. York), a college student transformed into a werewolf who undergoes a quest to rid himself of his curse by killing the apparent originator of his 'bloodline,' a drifter named Janos Skorzeny [a character name used by Jeff Rice in his 1971 vampire novel "The Kolchak Papers"] (played by Chuck Connors in his last television role). While pursuing Skorzeny, Cord himself is pursued by the persistent bounty hunter "Alamo" Joe Rogan ( Lance LeGault). Later, Cord hunts Nicholas Remy ( Brian Thompson), the real originator of the bloodline.

The show aired a two-hour pilot and 28 half-hour episodes before being cancelled in 1988. In the United Kingdom the series aired on Sky One from 1989-1990.

Werewolf, in comics, may refer to:

• Werewolf (Dell Comics), a superhero werewolf published by Dell Comics
• Werewolf, the name of a number of Marvel Comics characters:
  • There are rings known as the "Werewolf rings" that were obtained along with other magic items by Joshua Kane that were allegedly from Aelfric. After Kane’s death, his executor Geraldo Kabal gave one of the rings to Lou Hackett who used it to become an intelligent werewolf; it was apparently destroyed along with him. The second ring was taken from Kabal by Jack Russell, and it allowed him to retain his intellect (but not speak) until he lost it in Baron Thunder's building. The rings appeared in Werewolf by Night vol. 1 #20-21.
  • A Hungarian who developed the bloodlust when he was exposed to a drop of water in Uncanny Tales vol. 1 #23 was known as Werewolf.
  • In Marvel Tales vol. 1 #108, there is a werewolf who was married to a vampire.
• Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Moonstone Books comics based on the games of the same name
• "Werewolf", a story arc in Legends of the Dark Knight #71-73

In the Buffyverse, created by Joss Whedon, werewolves are similar to the werewolves of folklore, but rather than being only brutish monsters, they appear as characters who suffer from lycanthropy, and whose animal side either complements or clashes with their human side.

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the werewolf is a type of lycanthrope.