Why Wyfwulf? Etymology of the Blog Name

Strange how I immediately started talking about Transformers and I didn't explain anything about my name. I guess I just didn't think anyone would care.

I suppose I should explain it though. It took me about 20 seconds to name it, but people keep asking me what it means. It's not that hard really:

Zachara was my name way back when I was playing Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast. I just wanted something different that sounded cool. I had made it up with no true connection to any real name. The closest English variant to Zachara is an English feminine form of the name Zechariah, which comes from the Hebrew name זְכַרְיָה (Zekharyah) meaning "Yaweh remembers" and the Arabic name Zahara meaning "shining".

I figured this was appropriate considering this blog is going to be talking about memories and illuminating certain theories and criticisms on topics of my choosing. I'm not really that religious, I'm curious about what other beliefs have to offer and I respect most peoples' beliefs, but I focus mostly on the 'remembering' part of the name and less on the 'Yaweh'.

Wyfwulf is an Old English word that many people have trouble deciphering. People immediately associate it with the word "werewolf" to which - for me - it does have some connection. A werewolf, as most people know, is a man who can take the form (or demi-form, enlarged-form, etc.) of a wolf. The term is literal and has roots in Germanic languages and especially Old English. "Wer" means "male person". "Wulf" means "beast" in it's most ancestral core meaning and, in later versions of the word, directly refers to the animal of the "wolf".

"Wyf" is the Old English word for "woman" and the core of the words like "wife" and "woman". Originally there was "werman" and "wifman", both later became "man" and "woman".

The term "wyfwulf" has not actually been used all that often. In most cases, people refer to women who can turn into wolfs as simply "female werewolves" - which makes no sense when you think about the word: female man-wolf? "Wyfwolf" or "wifwolf" is the proper term for women with the ability to turn into a wolf, or wolf-like creature. "Wyfwulf" is closer to meaning "woman-beast" than "wifwolf"; suggesting that the woman can turn into a beast, or is very beast-like.

I have chosen the word "wyfwulf" as the mythical creature that writes in this blog because I think it's suits my personality. I'm not claiming that I can turn into a beast of some kind, but I think no none is really be "human" until they have trained and controled this "wulf" within them. I am no different, though I am having a particularly hard time with my "wulf".

Thus, I am what I am: Zachara the Wyfwulf, a nostalgic, curious beast-woman.