Wodwose

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A hairy, savage figure of the forest who appears in medieval European legend and heraldry
2. A wild, shaggy creature living in the woods, a common figure in old English and continental folklore
3. A legendary hairy man of the wilderness, often shown carrying a club and draped in leaves

Etymology: In medieval art the wodwose was a hairy, club-wielding man living wild in the forest. He appears in church carvings and on heraldic shields, where he sometimes served as a supporter holding up the coat of arms. The name is Middle English, built on Old English "wudu", meaning wood, joined to a second element that is harder to pin down. Many scholars link that element to "wāsa", an Old English word for a creature or being, but the connection is not settled. As the figure faded from everyday life, the spelling drifted. "Wodehouse" is a variant that now reads as a house in the wood, a sense that probably came from folk association with "house" once the original meaning was forgotten, rather than from the word's true origin.

Synonyms: wild man, wildman, woodwose