Were andwer arearchaic terms foradultmalehumans and were often used foralliteration with wife as "were and wife" in Germanic-speaking cultures[1] (Old English:wer,Old Dutch:wer,Gothic:waír,Old Frisian:wer,Old Saxon:wer,Old High German:wer,Old Norse:verr).
InAnglo-Saxon lawwer was the value of a man's life. He could be required to pay hiswer to the king as a penalty for crime.[2] If he was murdered then his relatives were entitled to hiswergild as compensation from the murderer.
The word has cognates in various other languages, for example,Latinvir (as invirility) andGaelicfear (pluralfir as inFir Bolg) both mean a male human.
It is likely thatwer forms part of a compound word inwerewolf (man-wolf), although there are other proposed etymologies.[3] Infolklore andfantasyfiction,were- is oftenprefixed to ananimal name to indicate atherianthropic figure orshapeshifter (e.g. "were-boar"). Hyphenation used to be mandatory, but is now commonly dropped, as inwerecat andwererat. There is no attested counterpartwifwylf orwyfwylf .