Skip to content

loup-garou

werewolf

noun loo gah-ROO Rare

Origin: Old French loup (wolf) + garou (werewolf, from Frankish)

Usage Note

Loup-garou is always hyphenated and takes a masculine article. The plural is loups-garous. The word is deeply embedded in French regional folklore; beliefs in werewolves were widespread in early modern France, and several famous trials for lycanthropy occurred there in the 16th century.

Examples

"Les enfants ont peur du loup-garou."

Natural Translation

The children are afraid of the werewolf.

Explore French by topic