Were

Were and wer are archaic terms for adult male humans and were often used for alliteration with wife as "were and wife" in Germanic-speaking cultures (Old English: were, German: Wehr, Dutch: weer, Gothic: waír, Old Frisian: wer, Old Saxon: wer, Old High German: wer , Old Norse: verr).

In folklore and fantasy fiction, were- is often used as a prefix applied to an animal name to indicate a type of therianthropic or shapeshifter (e.g. "were-boar"). Hyphenation used to be mandatory, but is now commonly dropped, as in werecat and wererat. This usage can be seen as a back-formation from werewolf (literally, "man-wolf"), as there is no equivalent wifewolf.