![]() 1,074,619,501 visitors served. |
|
![]() Dictionary/ thesaurus | ![]() Medical dictionary | ![]() Legal dictionary | ![]() Financial dictionary | ![]() Acronyms | ![]() Idioms | ![]() Encyclopedia | ![]() Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
lycanthropy |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.09 sec. |
|
lycanthropy (līkăn`thrəpē), in folklore, assumption by a human of the appearance and characteristics of an animal. Ancient belief in lycanthropy was widespread, and it still exists in parts of the world. Certain African tribes have their "leopardmen" and the like, and literatures all over the world have tales of men changing to animals. One of the most widely held of these superstitions is the belief in the werewolf (a person who either willingly or unwillingly changes into a wolf, eats human flesh or drinks human blood, then returns to his natural form). The lycanthrope, akin to the vampire, is thought to undergo his change by means of witchcraft or magic. In the Middle Ages the church condemned lycanthropy as a form of sorcery and often ruthlessly punished the supposed offenders. The term is also applied to a form of insanity in which a person believes himself to be an animal and behaves accordingly. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
? Mentioned in | ? References in periodicals archive | |
|---|---|---|
In the national spelling competition, 14-year-old Placerita Junior High School student David Pruden successfully spelled more than two dozen brain twisters, including: culottes, derogatory, precedent, immolate, basmati, lycanthropy, succussatory, nullipara, scopolamine, Erewhonian, Pierian, perciatelli, Capharnaum, oeillade, sprachgefuhl, madid and balneation. When Ginger turns from horny to hyper violent, Brigitte's last hope is Sam, a handsome dope dealer with expertise in biology and lycanthropy. Lycanthropy Benefit in Talbot, Michigan (Lycanthropy is the |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Browser extension |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|
|---|