The word "Lycan"

[Kyriakos]

Just now there is this ad on the top of my screen that reads: Lycan or Vampire? It is about some online game where you choose to either be a lycanthrope or a vampire, a protagonist or antagonist.
However i am also aware that there is a series of movies with the term "Lycan" in their title, in singular or plural.

So this thread is about the corruption of this word in english.

Originally i guess the term was the regular english-one, of "wolf-man". The Greek Lycanthropos is, afterall, virtually the same term, from Lycos (wolf) and Anthropos (human). But Lycan by itself means nothing in Greek.

I would have to guess that those who instituted the new term Lycan were not aware of the term anthropos, whose two first letters they severed and glued onto the lyc part.

And although the term "Lycanthropy" has found some prominence in this field, it is in my view disheartening that at the same time a completely wrong word appears, and slowly rises.

Now Lycanthropos, or Lycos (wolf) are not the only viable options. There is Lyceios (wolfian), as in the Lyceios Zeus, an ancient greek cult.

-Do you mind the term Lycan?

-Do you consider "Lycan" to be correct English?

You can also discuss similar terms which get corrupted, and your view of this phenomenon.

 

[Dreadnought]

I never use the term Lycan, nor do I use the term were-wolf.

I always say Lycanthrope.

 

[emzie]

Corruption? Language doesn't work like you wish. It changes. It doesn't have to make sense to the original root as so long as it gets an idea across to another person.

 

[Kyriakos]

Hm, i thought this phenomenon was called "corruption" in english. Heaven knows there is corruption in Greece ( ), and in this case it is called parafthora (from ftheiro, which means to alter or damage)

 

[Core Imposter]

This is the way new words are made. It is part of the general decay of society attributable to exposure to the doctrines of communism/socialism/liberalism/left wing/nut/pinkos/atheist/nytimes/krugmatthews/drugie/debauchery/msnbc/racewar/genderwar/classwar/and general civfanatic tavern poster's deviant<'((((><iness.

 

[emzie]

MisterCooper, bringing the entertainment and the beer.

 

[IdiotsOpposite]

I say werewolf. And I mean it in the original sense.

 

[Huayna Capac357]

IIRC, Lycan's from a movie or comic book or something. The game must be ripping it off. Solution: get adblock.

 

[mangxema]

Just now there is this ad on the top of my screen that reads: Lycan or Vampire? It is about some online game where you choose to either be a lycanthrope or a vampire, a protagonist or antagonist.
However i am also aware that there is a series of movies with the term "Lycan" in their title, in singular or plural.

So this thread is about the corruption of this word in english.

Oh hi there! We're Americans. We repurpose words at will to suit our needs.

Originally i guess the term was the regular english-one, of "wolf-man". The Greek Lycanthropos is, afterall, virtually the same term, from Lycos (wolf) and Anthropos (human). But Lycan by itself means nothing in Greek.

I would have to guess that those who instituted the new term Lycan were not aware of the term anthropos, whose two first letters they severed and glued onto the lyc part.

I'd never heard of the full word until now, but even if the Powers That Be did know, I doubt they'd care. It's not like they'd confuse it with anything else in the language.

 

[gangleri2001]

Is the Twilight fad still around?

 

[IdiotsOpposite]

Is the Twilight fad still around?

I actually haven't heard about it for a while. So I'm guessing no.

 

[Kyriakos]

Yes, it is from the movie Rise of the Lycans (sic)

Contains such memorable one-liners such as "We can be slaves...Or we can be Lycans!"

Not quite "Release the Kraken" but anyway

 

[brennan]

It's probably just a neologism attributable to Gary Gygax or other early RPG contributor.

 

[druidravi]

In DOTA2 we call the hero Lycanthrope as Lycan. Generally words become shortened for ease of usage . How many actually care about the origins of a word . What is important is being able to communicate your idea effectively to your fellow beings. As long as both understand what Lycan stands for it doesn't matter what word or code you use to refer to it.

 

[gangleri2001]

@OT: OMFG! These English speakers! How do they dare to corrupt the most noble language of the Greeks? Greek is the purest of the languages and must be kept that way. It's not like we have Latin, Turkish, French or English words because we're that cool. Now I'm gonna go up &#956;&#949; &#964;&#959; &#945;&#963;&#945;&#957;&#963;&#941;&#961; to write a novel in katharevousa &#956;&#949; &#964;&#959; &#954;&#959;&#956;&#960;&#953;&#959;&#973;&#964;&#949;&#961; while I drink &#941;&#957;&#945; &#966;&#955;&#953;&#964;&#950;&#940;&#957;&#953; &#964;&#963;&#940;&#953;.

PS: Vote &#935;&#961;&#965;&#963;&#942; &#913;&#965;&#947;&#942;!

 

[Kyriakos]

Well you could have used &#945;&#957;&#949;&#955;&#954;&#965;&#963;&#964;&#942;&#961;&#945;&#962; instead of &#945;&#963;&#945;&#957;&#963;&#941;&#961; (which sounds lame) (both mean elevator)

And how did &#967;&#961;&#965;&#963;&#942; &#945;&#965;&#947;&#942; get mixed into a thread about lycanthropes? I mean sure, some of their members look the part, but really...

 

[_random_]

MisterCooper, bringing the entertainment and the beer.

Some way of killing brain cells anyway.

 

[Lord Gay]

Lycanthrope is a word common in the fantasy genre, both books and games. It's a term that refers to a group of creatures. Just as undead refers to creatures that are un-living, such as vampires, ghosts, zombies, ghouls, skeletons, etc., lycanthrope refers to people who have acquired lycanthropy.

A lycanthrope is a person that shapeshifts into a specific animal type. Most people are familiar with werewolves, but there are also werebears, weretigers, wereboars, and so forth. D&D makes use of lycanthropes, and since every fantasy CRPG ever created is influenced to some extent by D&D, many fantasy games do too.

Lycanthropes are also popular in many comic books, and there's at least one series I believe that has a storyline of vampires (the coolest undead) fighting an endless war against werewolves (the coolest lycanthropes). There's a movie series called Underworld about this.

As Druid pointed out, people come to abbreviate terms they use a lot. As such, people shorten lycanthrope to lycan.

Damn those gay-mers !!! Redefining the fundamental definition of lycanthrope !!!!11

 

[Glassfan]

Hm, i thought this phenomenon was called "corruption" in english. Heaven knows there is corruption in Greece ( ), and in this case it is called parafthora (from ftheiro, which means to alter or damage)

Only among our high school English teachers. In the real world anything goes. English borrows freely from other languages and butchers the spelling.

My domestic partner (OK, wife), looking over my shoulder is making a non-funny joke about me - misanthrope or troglodyte?

 

[filli_noctus]

A lycanthrope is a person that shapeshifts into a specific animal type. Most people are familiar with werewolves, but there are also werebears, weretigers, wereboars, and so forth. D&D makes use of lycanthropes, and since every fantasy CRPG ever created is influenced to some extent by D&D, many fantasy games do too.

I'm not 100% sure if you're implying that lycanthrope is a catch all term for humans that turn into a specific animal but as that's how it reads to me I am going to nitpick and point out that the term is therianthrope.