lycanthrope

American  

[lahy-kuhn-throhp, lahy-kan-throhp] / ˈlaɪ kənˌθroʊp, laɪˈkæn θroʊp /

noun

1. a person affected with lycanthropy.

2. a werewolf or alien spirit in the physical form of a bloodthirsty wolf.

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lycanthrope British  

/ ˈlaɪkənˌθrəʊp, laɪˈkænθrəʊp /

noun

1. a werewolf

2. psychiatry a person who believes that he is a wolf

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Etymology

Origin of lycanthrope

1615–25; < Greek lykánthrōpos wolf-man, equivalent to lýk ( os ) wolf + ánthrōpos man

Explanation

You can use the noun lycanthrope as a fancy way to talk about a werewolf or wolfman, or any other kind of mythical human-wolf creature. If your childhood babysitter liked to tell you bedtime tales about a lycanthrope, it means she was fond of werewolf stories. The Greek root word is lykanthropos, literally "wolf-man." In the late 1500s, a lycanthrope was a mentally ill person who believed that he was a wolf. Popular myths and stories of humans changing into wolves changed the meaning of lycanthrope to mean an actual monstrous creature.

Example Sentences

Anthony Bajon is endearing as the sudden lycanthrope of the title.

From New York Times • Aug. 20, 2021

A young man in a rural French village lets his inner lycanthrope out in the imported 2020 horror comedy “Teddy.”

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2021

It’s just a shame that a hungry lycanthrope puts a crimp in their travel plans.

From The Guardian • Jul. 11, 2019

But the young lycanthrope begs them not to hurt him; he explains that his mother changes into a wolf every night and runs in the forest with other werewolves.

From Time • May 27, 2015

None of them probably knew much of Gautier, De Nerval, Borel, le lycanthrope, and the other boys in that boyish movement of 1830. 

From Adventures Among Books by Lang, Andrew