werebear

1 9.9

A person who can change into a bear in stories

noun
/ˈwɛrˌbɛr/

Literature

: hombre oso

When he revealed his identity as a werebear, everyone stared in disbelief.

Examples

The werebear transformed from a human into a massive grizzly before our eyes.
Did you think it was a werebear?

Rites of Passage (2012)
The shaman believed he would shape-shift into a werebear.

Rites of Passage (2012)
What is a werebear?

Rites of Passage (2012)
WereBear: Exactly.

Blog text (29)
(Werebear) Gain claws/teeth that do 1d6 (Werewolf),

Blog text (5)
In the legend, the werebear roams the forest under the full moon, searching for prey.

Surface Forms

werebear singular

werebears plural

Morphology

werebear = bear (opaque) = were + bear + were

While 'were' and 'bear' are recognizable components, the mythical transformation concept is not a standard derivation.

Etymology

Werebear comes from the Old English part were meaning 'man' and bear, so it literally means a 'man-bear'. That's why a werebear is a mythical creature who can change between human and bear form.