''Were'' and ''wer'' are
archaic terms for
adult male
Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization.
A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...
s and were often used for
alliteration
Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...
with wife as "were and wife" in Germanic-speaking cultures ( ang, wer, odt, wer, got, waír, ofs, wer, osx, wer, goh, wer, non, verr).
In
Anglo-Saxon law
Anglo-Saxon law (Old English ''ǣ'', later ''lagu'' "law"; dōm "decree, judgment") is a body of written rules and customs that were in place during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, before the Norman conquest. This body of law, along with early ...
''wer'' was the value of a man's life. He could be required to pay his ''wer'' to the king as a penalty for crime. If he was murdered then his relatives were entitled to his
wergild
Weregild (also spelled wergild, wergeld (in archaic/historical usage of English), weregeld, etc.), also known as man price (blood money), was a precept in some archaic legal codes whereby a monetary value was established for a person's life, to b ...
as compensation from the murderer.
Etymology and usage
The word has cognates in various other languages, for example, the words ' (as in
virility
Virility (from the Latin ''virilitas'', manhood or virility, derived from Latin ''vir'', man) refers to any of a wide range of masculine characteristics viewed positively. Virile means "marked by strength or force". Virility is commonly associ ...
) and ' (plural ' as in
Fir Bolg
In medieval Irish myth, the Fir Bolg (also spelt Firbolg and Fir Bholg) are the fourth group of people to settle in Ireland. They are descended from the Muintir Nemid, an earlier group who abandoned Ireland and went to different parts of Europe. ...
) are the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
Gaelic for a male human.
While this prefix may not be derived from the above word,
[Concise OED, entry "werewolf"] in
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
and
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
fiction, ''were-'' is often used as a
prefix applied to an
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
name to indicate a type of
therianthropic
Therianthropy is the mythological ability of human beings to metamorphose into animals or hybrids by means of shapeshifting. It is possible that cave drawings found at Les Trois Frères, in France, depict ancient beliefs in the concept.
The b ...
figure or
shapeshifter
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherited the ...
(''e.g.'' "were-
boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
"). Hyphenation used to be mandatory, but is now commonly dropped, as in
werecat
A werecat (also written in a hyphenated form as were-cat) is an analog to "werewolf" for a feline therianthropic creature.
Etymology
Ailuranthropy comes from the Greek root words ''ailouros'' meaning "cat",< and ''anthropos'', meaning "human" ...
and
wererat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' ( pack rats), '' Bandicota'' ( bandic ...
. This usage can be seen as a
back-formation
In etymology, back-formation is the process or result of creating a new word via inflection, typically by removing or substituting actual or supposed affixes from a lexical item, in a way that expands the number of lexemes associated with the ...
from ''
werewolf
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...
'' (literally, "man-
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
"), as there is no equivalent ''wifwolf'' or ''wyfwolf'' yet attested.
See also
*
List of common false etymologies of English words#Other for a longer discussion of wer, wyf, and mann
*
Man (word)
The term ''man'' (from Proto-Germanic ''*mann-'' "person") and words derived from it can designate any or even all of the human race regardless of their sex or age. In traditional usage, ''man'' (without an article) itself refers to the specie ...
* For shapeshifters:
**
Cynanthropy Cynanthropy (sometimes spelled ''kynanthropy''; from grc, κύων/, 'dog' + /, 'man; human') is, in psychiatry, the pathological delusion of real persons that they are dogs and in anthropology and folklore, the supposed magical practice of shape- ...
**
Lycanthropy (disambiguation)
Lycanthropy is the mythological ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into an animal like state, such as a werewolf.
Lycanthropy may also refer to:
* Clinical lycanthropy, the delusional belief that a person can transform int ...
**
Mannaz
*Mannaz is the conventional name of the ''m''-rune of the Elder Futhark. It is derived from the reconstructed Common Germanic word for "man", ''*mannaz''.
Younger Futhark ᛘ is maðr ("man"). It took up the shape of the algiz rune ᛉ, repl ...
**
Skin-walker
In Navajo culture, a skin-walker ( nv, yee naaldlooshii) is a type of harmful witch who has the ability to turn into, possess, or disguise themselves as an animal. The term is never used for healers.
Background
In the Navajo language, ' transl ...
**
Therianthropy
Therianthropy is the mythological ability of human beings to metamorphose into animals or hybrids by means of shapeshifting. It is possible that cave drawings found at Les Trois Frères, in France, depict ancient beliefs in the concept.
The be ...
**
Werecat
A werecat (also written in a hyphenated form as were-cat) is an analog to "werewolf" for a feline therianthropic creature.
Etymology
Ailuranthropy comes from the Greek root words ''ailouros'' meaning "cat",< and ''anthropos'', meaning "human" ...
**
Werehyena
Were-hyena is a neologism coined in analogy to werewolf for therianthropy involving hyenas. It is common in the folklore of the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Near East as well as some adjacent territorie ...
**
Were-jaguar
**
Wererat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' ( pack rats), '' Bandicota'' ( bandic ...
**
Werewolf
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...
References
{{reflist
Etymologies
English words