TURNSKIN

The name is thought most likely to derive from Old English 'wer' (or 'were') meaning 'man' (male "man" rather than gender-neutral "person, human") or possibly the latin "vir," also meaning man (with the V in latin forming the sound a W would generally would, making it sound like "wer"). It has cognates in several Germanic languages including German: 'we(h)r', 'we(h)ren' (compounds include Abwehr, Feuerwehr, Bundeswehr 'group of men engaged in defense') and Old Norse: 'var' The second element is '*wlkwo-' or wulf meaning simply 'wolf'. The two elements joined thus yield 'man-wolf.' The first element is thought to be representative of the hypothetical Proto-Indo-European roots '*wi-ro-' meaning 'man.' Also thought to be descended from this root are Latin 'vir' Old Prussian: 'wirs', and Irish 'fir.' An alternative etymology looks to Old English weri (to wear) plus "wolf", thus bearing wearer of the wolf skin.

Other sources believe it is derived from warg-wolf, where "warg" (or later "werg" and "wero") is cognate with Norse "varg" meaning wolf and as "vargulf" means the kind of wolf that slaughters many of a flock or herd but eats only a bit. This was a serious problem for herders as they had to somehow destroy the individual wolf that had run mad before it destroyed their entire flock or herd. They then used the wolf's hide as a decorative ornament in the bedroom of a young infant, believing it to give the baby supernatural powers. "Warg" by itself was used in Old English for that specific kind of wolf (see J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Hobbit) and it was used as well for what would now be called a serial killer.

The Greek term Lycanthropy (a compound of which the first part derives from the same Proto-Indo-European root for "wolf", *wlkwo-, as the English word) is also commonly used for the "wolf - man" transformation. The term for the metamorphosis of people into animals in general, rather than wolves specifically, is therianthropy (therianthrope means beast-man). The term turnskin or turncoat (Latin: versipellis, Russian : oboroten, O. Norse: hamrammr) is sometimes also used. The french name for a werewolf, sometimes used in English, is loup-garou, from the Latin noun lupus meaning 'wolf.' 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.'"