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werefox

werefox

1 9.9
A creature from stories that is part human and part fox and can change into a fox
  • noun
  • /ˈwɛrˌfɑks/
  • Literature
: zorro hombre
  • In folklore, a werefox possesses the cunning of a fox and the ability to speak like a person.

Examples

  • The legend says that a werefox can transform from a human into a fox during the full moon.

  • A "werefox" named Cutbelly—he's half fox, half human—finds Ethan.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • "Johnny Speakwater is the local oracle in this part of the Western Summerlands," the werefox said.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • The story featured a werefox who struggled to balance its human life and animal instincts.

Surface Forms

werefox singular
werefoxes plural

Morphology

werefox = fox (semi-transparent) = were + fox + fox

The meaning is formed by analogy with the familiar compound 'werewolf' (were- + animal), but 'were-' is historically archaic and its shapeshifter sense is a cultural/fantasy convention rather than a productive everyday prefix.

Etymology

The word werefox comes from were- (an old English part meaning 'man' or 'person') plus fox, so it literally links a human and a fox. Think of werewolf but with a fox, and that explains why a werefox is a person who can change into a fox or is part human and part fox.