The art of being a-were

[drengnikrafe]

I figured this was as good a place as any to ask this question...

I had a thought the other day, and I wondered... if Lycanthopy is the adjective for being a were-creature, then what would the were creature itself be called if in the same vein? Lycanthope? Lycanthoper? Lycanthopist? I need help here!

[Tempest Fennac]

It's Lycanthope (I've read a lot about the subject).

[Gralamin]

I figured this was as good a place as any to ask this question...

I had a thought the other day, and I wondered... if Lycanthopy is the adjective for being a were-creature, then what would the were creature itself be called if in the same vein? Lycanthope? Lycanthoper? Lycanthopist? I need help here!

A Lycanthrope is technically a werewolf. A Therianthrope is a were-something, with the condition being called Therianthropy.

[CASTLEMIKE]

Depends on the degree and method of shapechanging.

There are Hengeyokai animals capable of shapechanging into humanoids from Oriental Adventures.

There is the Jackalwere from the Fiend Folio

[KevLar]

Lycanthropy is a noun, and it's the condition, as in "Your character has been afflicted by lycanthropy. Give me your sheet!"
Lycanthrope is a noun, and it's the creature. It means precisely "wolfman". (Lycos=wolf, anthropos=human)
Lycanthropic would be the adjective, as in "a lycanthropic plague is spreading!"

For animals other than wolf, using the were- prefix is just fine.

[mangosta71]

So a werebear would be an ursatrope? Wait - thropos looks like Greek to me. Is ursa Greek or Latin? I can never keep the classical languages that I haven't studied straight.

[Jayabalard]

A Lycanthrope is technically a werewolf. A Therianthrope is a were-something, with the condition being called Therianthropy.

hmm, that still assumes that it's a human that's afflicted.

I've seen theriomorph/theriomorphic/theriomorphy used as more generic term.

[KevLar]

So a werebear would be an ursatrope? Wait - thropos looks like Greek to me. Is ursa Greek or Latin? I can never keep the classical languages that I haven't studied straight.

A werebear would be a werebear. Ursa is latin for bear and anthropos is greek for human, so I wouldn't make a word out of those two.

[If you want to fool around, the wolf in latin is lupus, and man is homo. As for greek, combining the words arktos (for bear) and anthropos (for human) produces arktanthrope, which can't be pronounced by a sane human being, methinks.]

Therion is greek for beast or monster, so therianthrope would be a beastman. Hmmm...

[Sstoopidtallkid]

[If you want to fool around, the wolf in latin is lupus, and man is homo. As for greek, combining the words arktos (for bear) and anthropos (for human) produces arktanthrope, which can't be pronounced by a sane human being, methinks.]

I pronounced it.

Oh, wait...

[Greenfaun]

A Lycanthrope is technically a werewolf. A Therianthrope is a were-something, with the condition being called Therianthropy.

That's etymologically correct but philologically incorrect. :)

Of course the issue is muddied by the small but vocal subgroup of the furry fandom trying to get everyone to use the term "therianthrope" as you do above. And hey, y'know, whatever, language is a living thing and should evolve. But still, even among most geeks (and especially in RPG's, not just DnD) lycanthropy is the general term for that whole turning-into-an-animal thing.

And anyway, to answer the OP:

What do you call a man who can turn into an eight-foot clawed man-beast and tear your arms off? Whatever he wants you to call him.