Wolver

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A mythical or legendary creature reputed in northern European folklore ; an alternate, archaic term applied to certain savage or wolf-like beings in stories ; rarely, a variant spelling of a regional name for the wolverine animal
2. Refers to a fantastical beast from legends of Scandinavia or Finland ; to beings exhibiting wolfish traits in old tales ; or, exceptionally, a less common spelling for the predatory mammal called wolverine
3. A name for a creature in myth that is thought to be wolfish or supernatural ; sometimes designates enigmatic wild entities in historic folklore ; and infrequently, serves as another form for the word wolverine

Etymology: "Wolver" is formed from "wolve," an older English word for a wolf, with the suffix "-er" added to it. The suffix is the same one found in words like "baker" or "hunter," and in this case it attaches to the sense "wolf" to create a name for a creature of a particular kind. The result is a compound-style coinage rather than a word with a long independent history, so its interest lies mainly in the older base it grows from. Because "wolver" is a noun for a mythical wolf-like creature, it belongs to the body of folklore names built directly on the animal's name, in the same way that other creature names were built from familiar animals. Its meaning therefore stays close to the literal wolf, with the added idea of something wolf-like and imagined.

Synonyms: wolverine, carnivore, predator, mustelid, beast

Antonyms: herbivore, prey, victim