Warg

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈwɑːɡ/

Definitions

1. A fictional or mythological creature resembling a wolf, often depicted as ferocious and intelligent
2. A large, aggressive wolf-like entity commonly found in fantasy literature and games, associated with battle and warfare
3. A monstrous, predatory beast with wolf-like features, typically featured in stories of fantasy worlds as a symbol of ferocity

Etymology: The wolf-like creature of Tolkien's Middle-earth owes its name to a word that English had all but lost. Old Norse "vargr" meant simply "wolf", and its relative in Old English, "wearg", was an outlaw's word, the kind of creature a community pushed beyond its borders. Tolkien took the Norse form and reintroduced it as a name for the monstrous wolves that serve Sauron, giving a dead ancestor a new and far more sinister life. Centuries later, a different writer gave the word a second, unexpected career. George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels use the term for a person able to enter and control the mind of an animal, typically a wolf, by sharing its skin. In that usage the creature and its rider become one figure, so the word now names both the beast and the human who moves inside it.