Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Lycanthropy

Ly-can′thro-py

,
Noun.
[Gr. [GREEK]: cf. F.
lycanthropie
.]
1.
The supposed act of turning one’s self or another person into a wolf.
Lowell.
2.
(Med.)
A kind of erratic melancholy, in which the patient imagines himself a wolf, and imitates the actions of that animal.

Webster 1828 Edition


Lycanthropy

LYCAN'THROPY

,
Noun.
[Gr. a wolf, and man.]
A kind of erratic melancholy.

Definition 2024


lycanthropy

lycanthropy

English

Alternative forms

Noun

lycanthropy (uncountable)

  1. (mythology) The act of shapeshifting between the form of a human being and an animal (usually a wolf), often done during a full moon, according to legend.
    • 2014, Marijn Haverbeke, “4: Data Structures: Objects and Arrays”, in Eloquent JavaScript, 2nd Ed.: A Modern Introduction to Programming, No Starch Press, ISBN 9781593275846, page 60:
      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.
  2. A delusion in which one believes oneself to be a wolf or other wild animal

Translations

Related terms

See also