\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.