Were

Were

"Were" and "wer" are archaic terms for adult male humans and were often used for alliteration with wife as "were and wife" in Germanic-speaking cultures (Old English "were", German "Wehr", Gothic "waír", Old Frisian "wer", Old Saxon "wer", Old High German "wer", Old Norse "verr").

In folklore and fantasy fiction, "were-" is often used as a prefix applied to an animal name to indicate a type of shapeshifter ("e.g." "were-boar"). Hyphenation used to be mandatory but is now commonly dropped, as in werecat and wererat. This usage can be seen as a back formation from "werewolf" (literally, "man-wolf"), as there is no equivalent "wifewolf". A further back formation, "polywere", eliminates the animal root entirely.

Gothic has a word translating "kosmos" derived from the same stem: "faírhvus", used by Wulfila in alternation with "manasêþs". The corresponding West Germanic term is "werold" "world", literally "wer" "man" + "ald" "age". Gothic "faírhvus" is cognate to Old High German "fërah", Old English "feorh", terms expressing "lifetime" (""). [Jacob Grimm, "Teutonic Mythology", ch. 25 [http://www.northvegr.org/lore/grimmst/025_01.php] ]

The word has cognates in various other languages, for example, the words "vir" (as in virile) and "fear" (plural "fir" as in Fir Bolg) are the Latin and Gaelic for man.

References

ee also

* Mannaz
* Werewolf
* Weregild
* Werehyena
* Werecat
* Werebear

to ask for a location.


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  • Were — (w[ e]r; 277). [AS. w[=ae]re (thou) wast, w[=ae]ron (we, you, they) were, w[=ae]re imp. subj. See {Was}.] The imperfect indicative plural, and imperfect subjunctive singular and plural, of the verb be. See {Be}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Were — (w[=e]r), n. [AS. wer; akin to OS. & OHG. wer, Goth. wa[ i]r, L. vir, Skr. v[=i]ra. Cf. {Weregild}, and {Werewolf}.] [1913 Webster] 1. A man. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 2. A fine for slaying a man; the money value set upon a man s life; weregild. [Obs …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • were — O.E. wæron (past plural indicative of wesan) and wære (second person singular past indicative); see WAS (Cf. was). The forms illustrate Verner s Law (named for Danish linguist Karl Verner, 1875), which predicts the s to z sound shift, and… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Were — Were, v. t. & i. To wear. See 3d {Wear}. [Obs.] Chaucer. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Were — Were, n. A weir. See {Weir}. [Obs.] Chaucer. Sir P. Sidney. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Were — Were, v. t. [AS. werian.] To guard; to protect. [Obs.] Chaucer. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Were — Were, s. Gewere …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Were — Were, s.v.w. Gewere …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • were — [wə strong wə: $ wər strong wə:r] [: Old English; Origin: wAre, wAron, wAren] the past tense of ↑be …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • were — the past tense of be …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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