O.E.
wulf, from P.Gmc.
*wulfaz (cf. O.S.
wulf, O.N.
ulfr, O.Fris., Du., O.H.G., Ger.
wolf, Goth.
wulfs), from PIE
*wlqwos/*lukwos, from base
*wlp-/*lup- (cf. Skt.
vrkas, Avestan
vehrka-; Albanian
ulk; O.C.S.
vluku; Rus.
volcica; Lith.
vilkas "wolf;" O.Pers.
Varkana- "Hyrcania," district southeast of the Caspian Sea, lit. "wolf-land;" probably also Gk.
lykos, L.
lupus). The verb meaning "eat like a wolf" is attested from 1862. Wolves as a symbol of lust are ancient, e.g. Roman slang
lupa "whore," lit. "she-wolf" (preserved in Sp.
loba, It.
lupa, Fr.
louve). The equation of "wolf" and "prostitute, sexually voracious female" persisted into 12c., but by Elizabethan times wolves had become primarily symbolic of male lust. The specific use of
wolf for "sexually aggressive male" first recorded 1847;
wolf-whistle first attested 1952. The image of a wolf in sheep's skin is attested from c.1400. See
here for a discussion of "wolf" in I.E. history.
"This manne can litle skyl ... to saue himself harmlesse from the perilous accidentes of this world, keping ye wulf from the doore (as they cal it)." ["The Institution of a Gentleman," 1555]
[woo
lf] 
noun, plural wolves