lycanthropy
/laɪ̯ˈkæn.θɹə.piː/
lycanthropy means the state of being a lycanthrope (or werewolf), a person who can shapeshift between the form of a human being and a wolf, often said to happen involuntarily during a full moon; werewolfdom.
lycanthropy is pronounced /laɪ̯ˈkæn.θɹə.piː/.
Why “lycanthropy” is a great word
The supernatural condition or delusion of being a werewolf, a human capable of transforming into a wolf or wolf-like creature. From Ancient Greek λυκάνθρωπος (lykánthrōpos, "wolf-man"), from λύκος (lýkos, "wolf") + ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, "human being") + the abstract noun suffix -ία (-ía), first attested in English in the 1580s. Unlike "therianthropy," which encompasses transformation into any animal form, or "zoanthropy," a clinical diagnosis of animal delusion, lycanthropy is specific, mythological, and drenched in European nightmare. It is the crack of bone under a full moon, the coarse fur pushing through human skin, and the primal hunger that eclipses every civilized thought—an ancient terror that speaks to the fear not merely of becoming animal, but of becoming predator, of the civilized self dissolving into something that hunts and is hunted in equal measure.
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek λῠκᾰνθρωπῐ́ᾱ (lŭkănthrōpĭ́ā), from λῠκᾰ́νθρωπος (lŭkắnthrōpos, “wolfman”). By surface analysis, lycanthrope + -y (abstract noun suffix).
noun
- The state of being a lycanthrope (or werewolf), a person who can shapeshift between the form of a human being and a wolf, often said to happen involuntarily during a full moon; werewolfdom.
- The state of being a person who can shapeshift between the form of a human being and an animal, whether or not it is a wolf.“On one hand, Jacques is quite glad that he doesn’t have classic lycanthropy. Turning into a squirrel tends to cause fewer problems than turning into a wolf.”
- A delusion in which one believes oneself to be a wolf or other wild animal.
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