One of the most perfectly preserved PIE words — traceable across 6,000 years, naming humanity's apex rival.
A large wild carnivorous mammal (Canis lupus) that lives and hunts in packs, the largest member of the dog family, native to Eurasia and North America.
The word 'wolf' comes from Old English 'wulf,' from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos. This is one of the most securely reconstructed PIE animal names, with reflexes in virtually every branch of the family: Latin 'lupus,' Greek 'lýkos,' Sanskrit 'vṛka,' Lithuanian 'vilkas,' Old Church Slavonic 'vlĭkŭ,' and many more. The PIE root may be connected to *welk- ('to drag, tear'), characterizing the wolf as 'the tearer' or 'the ripper.' Key roots: *wĺ̥kʷos (Proto-Indo-European: "wolf").