/wair"woolf', wear"-, werr"-/ , n. , pl. werewolves /-woolvz'/ .
(in folklore and superstition) a human being who has changed into a wolf, or is capable of assuming the form of a wolf, while retaining human intelligence.
Also, werwolf .
[ bef. 1000; ME werwolf, OE werwulf, equiv. to wer man (c. Goth wair, L vir ) + wulf WOLF; c. MD weerwolf, OHG werwolf ]