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Were

Translation
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", 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 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". A further back formation, "polywere", eliminates the animal root entirely.

Gothic has a word translating "kosmos" derived from the same stem: "faírhvus", used by Wulfila in alternation with "manasêþs". The corresponding West Germanic term is "werold" "world", literally "wer" "man" + "ald" "age". Gothic "faírhvus" is cognate to Old High German "fërah", Old English "feorh", terms expressing "lifetime" (""). [Jacob Grimm, "Teutonic Mythology", ch. 25 [http://www.northvegr.org/lore/grimmst/025_01.php] ]

The word has cognates in various other languages, for example, the words "vir" (as in virile) and "fear" (plural "fir" as in Fir Bolg) are the Latin and Gaelic for man.

References

ee also

* Mannaz
* Werewolf
* Weregild
* Werehyena
* Werecat
* Werebear

to ask for a location.


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  • Were — (w[ e]r; 277). [AS. w[=ae]re (thou) wast, w[=ae]ron (we, you, they) were, w[=ae]re imp. subj. See {Was}.] The imperfect indicative plural, and imperfect subjunctive singular and plural, of the verb be. See {Be}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Were — (w[=e]r), n. [AS. wer; akin to OS. & OHG. wer, Goth. wa[ i]r, L. vir, Skr. v[=i]ra. Cf. {Weregild}, and {Werewolf}.] [1913 Webster] 1. A man. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 2. A fine for slaying a man; the money value set upon a man s life; weregild. [Obs …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Were — Were, v. t. & i. To wear. See 3d {Wear}. [Obs.] Chaucer. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Were — Were, n. A weir. See {Weir}. [Obs.] Chaucer. Sir P. Sidney. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Were — Were, v. t. [AS. werian.] To guard; to protect. [Obs.] Chaucer. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • were — мн. ч. прош. вр. от be …   Англо-русский словарь Мюллера

  • were — 1> 1 е, 2 е и 3 е л. мн. ч. прошедшего времени гл. to be 2> ист. вира (денежная пеня за убийство) …   Новый большой англо-русский словарь

  • WERE — Infobox Radio Station name = WERE city = Cleveland Heights, Ohio area = Greater Cleveland branding = News/Talk 1490 WERE AM slogan = The People s Station airdate = June 4, 2007 1948 (as WSRS) affiliations = Syndication One USA Radio Network… …   Wikipedia

  • were — wə: мн. ч. прош. вр. от be 1 е, 2 е и 3 е л. мн. ч. прошедшего времени гл. to be (историческое) вира (денежная пеня за убийство) were прошедшее время мн. ч. гл. to be …   Большой англо-русский и русско-английский словарь

  • were — Etymology: Middle English were (suppletive singular past subjunctive & 2d singular past indicative of been to be), weren (suppletive past plural of been), from Old English wǣre (singular past subjunctive & 2d singular past indicative of wesan to… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • were — we re 1> разг. сокр. от we are …   Новый большой англо-русский словарь

Фильмы

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