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werewolves

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Vampires in America
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were⋅wolf

  [wair-woolf, weer-, wur-]
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–noun, plural -wolves  [-woolvz] .
(in folklore and superstition) a human being who has changed into a wolf, or is capable of assuming the form of a wolf, while retaining human intelligence.
Also, werwolf.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME werwolf, OE werwulf, equiv. to wer man (c. Goth wair, L vir) + wulf wolf; c. MD weerwolf, OHG werwolf
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Cultural Dictionary

werewolves

Legendary human beings who are magically transformed into wolves. Werewolves supposedly prowl at night, devouring babies and digging up corpses, and cannot be killed with ordinary weapons. They are particularly associated with the full moon.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

werewolf 
late O.E. werewulf "person with the power to turn into a wolf," from wer "man" + wulf (see wolf; also see here for a short discussion of the mythology). The first element probably is from PIE *uiHro "freeman" (cf. Skt. vira-, Lith. vyras, L. vir, O.Ir. fer, Goth. wair). Cf. M.Du. weerwolf, O.H.G. werwolf, Swed. varulf. In the ancient Persian calendar, the eighth month (October-November) was Varkazana-, lit. "(Month of the) Wolf-Men."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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