different between wendigo vs werewolf

English

Etymology

From Ojibwe wiindigoo, from Proto-Algonquian *wi·nteko·wa (“owl; malevolent spirit, cannibalistic monster”). Compare Cree wihtikow, ?????? (iyhtikow, “greedy person; cannibal; giant man-eating monster”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?w?nd????/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?w?ndi?o?/
• Hyphenation: wen?di?go

Noun

wendigo (plural wendigo or wendigos or wendigoes)

1. (mythology) A malevolent and violent cannibal spirit found in Anishinaabe, Ojibwe, and Cree mythology, which is said to inhabit the body of a living person and possess him or her to commit murder.

   Synonyms: wetiko, wihtikow, witigo, (derived from Cree) witiko
2. Synonym of splake (“kind of hybrid fish”)

Alternative forms

• wiindigoo
• windago
• windiga
• windigo

Derived terms

• wendigo psychosis

Translations

Further reading

• wendigo on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “windigo”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

Anagrams

• widgeon

English

Alternative forms

• werwolf, were-wolf, were wolf, wehrwolf, warwolf

Etymology

From Middle English werwolf, from Old English werwulf, from Proto-West Germanic *werawulf, from Proto-West Germanic *wer (“man”) + *wulf (“wolf”). Equivalent to wer +? wolf or were- +? wolf. Cognate with Dutch weerwolf, Low German Warwulf, German Werwolf, Danish varulv, Swedish varulv and even possibly Finnish vironsusi.

Compare also French garou, in loup-garou, French dialectal gairou, varou (“werewolf”), Medieval Latin gerulphus, garulphus (“werewolf”) (from Germanic).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?w??w?lf/, /?w??w?lf/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?w???w?lf/, /?w???w?lf/, /?w??w?lf/

Noun

werewolf (plural werewolves)

1. (mythology) A person who is transformed or can transform into a wolf or a wolflike human, often said to transform during a full moon.

   Synonyms: wolfman, lycanthrope, man-wolf

Hyponyms

• (female): werewolfess, werewoman, wolfwoman

Derived terms

• werewolfdom
• werewolfish

Translations

See also

• dogman
• turnskin
• were-