Connor Moran

#EtymologyFunFactOfTheDay

The word man originally was gender-neutral. Wer was used for male-gendered men and Wif for female. Wif persisted as "wife" and wifman->woman. The wer was dropped in the 10th century or so and man just came to take over.

Which is fun because that wer is the same as werewolf, so there also used to be weremen

Dec 19, 2022 at 6:10amWeb
Show threadmy friends call me 5Dec 19, 2022

@ConnorMoran

so a woman werewolf is a wifwolf? 🤩

Show threadJohn DumasDec 19, 2022
@sj5 @ConnorMoran More likely a wifwilf (or we can dress it up with y’s and make it a wifwylf).
Old English wulf is most likely a he-wolf (masculine noun), since Beowulf has at 1506a seo brim-wylf, calling Grendel’s mother “the sea wolf,” grammatically feminine, though it seems there’s an attested form “wlyfen” (compare to fox > fyxan, modern vixen), so we could have wifwlyfen.
A wifwolf suggests a change of both species and gender, which is an interesting idea.
Show threadmy friends call me 5Dec 19, 2022

@johndumas @ConnorMoran

actually yes, that IS an interesting idea! I've seen some discussion of #trans 'werewolf' #fiction, for example, tho I'm not sure I've seen any actually being written.

wifwolves & werewylves ftw!

Show threadJohn DumasDec 19, 2022
@sj5 @ConnorMoran Okay, now I desperately want to read a novel where someone changes both species and sex with the changing of the moon.
Show threadRichardDec 19, 2022
@johndumas @sj5 @ConnorMoran So English was an even more confusing language in the past? The ridiculous rules we use today are the simplified version of the language?
Show threadJohn DumasDec 19, 2022
@richard_merren @sj5 @ConnorMoran Er, well kinda. Old English has grammatical gender, just like German (exactly like German, in that the genders are masculine, feminine, and neutral). That said, the textbook I used when learning Old English pointed out that “late in life he went to Rome” would have been understood in the OE period, though pronunciation would have been different.
Show threadKeira Incognita Dec 19, 2022
@sj5 @johndumas @ConnorMoran
Show threadmy friends call me 5Dec 19, 2022

@keira_incognita @johndumas @ConnorMoran

🤯

If anything, I'm delighted to think this is more common knowledge than I would have expected... đź’•

Show threadChristopher ThiebautDec 19, 2022
@sj5 @ConnorMoran That is what I learned from web comics, yes. https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/wif
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Wif

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Wif

Show threadmy friends call me 5Dec 19, 2022

@helpfulnerd @ConnorMoran

or with the Y thrown in for fun, Wifwylf — which is ridiculously fun to say

Show threadOrcDec 19, 2022
@ConnorMoran So an enby would be a werwif?
Show threadDaisy, Cybernetic NoviceDec 19, 2022
@ConnorMoran what about a were-wight?
Show threadTheophile EscargotDec 19, 2022
@ConnorMoran Also the Anglo-Saxons seemed to have had a third gender category the bædling https://www.themedievalmonk.com/blog/whats-in-a-word-the-anglo-saxon-baedling-and-gender-trouble
Ancient Anglo-Saxons: more woke than you think
Medieval 'gender trouble'

The Medieval Monk
Show threadIan Hecht 🇨🇦Dec 19, 2022
@ConnorMoran And presumably wifwolves for female werewolves?
Show threadBunRab Is Old And TiredDec 19, 2022
@ConnorMoran see poem by Christian Morgenstern, "Der Werwolf"
Show threadACAB for Cutie Dec 19, 2022

@ConnorMoran
https://youtu.be/gQQtgx4iG8E

@donmelton

Young Frankenstein ( junior ) - Werewolf! ...There!

YouTube
Show threadJohn YoungDec 19, 2022
@ConnorMoran
Ooh.intetesting. So Wolfman?
Is that the English language we are talking about?
Show threadNancy Vieira CoutoDec 19, 2022
@ConnorMoran I always thought—because someone must have told me once—that “wife” came from “weave.” Wives did the weaving, and spinsters did the spinning. Makes sense, but I guess not true.