wearg

Old English

Alternative forms

• warg, werg, wearh

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *warg.

Cognate with Old Saxon warag, Old High German warc, Old Norse vargr (“outlaw, wolf”) (Swedish varg (“wolf”)). See also English warg.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wæ͜ɑrɡ/, [wæ͜ɑrˠɣ]

Noun

wearg m

1. criminal, reprobate, felon
   • Wearh hangian, fægere ongildan þæt he ær facen dyde manna cynne. ― The criminal shall hang, paying fairly for the crime he committed against the race of men. (Maxims II)
2. monster, evil spirit

Usage notes

• Possible connotations of also meaning wolf, as its related words mean this too, such as; Old Norse vargr (“outlaw, wolf”), Swedish varg (“wolf”), and Dutch warg (“wolf”), also the related word "wierġen" means "she-wolf". Though there is no direct evidence for this in writing, and the only word descended from this is the Latin "wargus" which only references the definition for criminal and not monster or wolf either.

Declension

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	wearg	weargas
accusative	wearg	weargas
genitive	wearges	wearga
dative	wearge	weargum

Related terms

• wierġen, wyrġen ("she-wolf")

Descendants

• Middle English: wari, weri
• → Medieval Latin: wargus, vargus
  • → English: wargus