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where the words Gestalt and Lycan com from and put other words and definition's and origins and I'll put them together to make a dictionary of werewolf related words.

the word gestalt was used in the werewolf context specifically for Freeborn. Before the concept for Freeborn was envisioned, gestalt was never used in that context.

(However, after Freeborn comes out, I'm sure that it will be used in that context much more)

"Gestalt" I'm pretty sure has been used before, though I couldn't tell you where or why.

"Lycan," on the other hand, is just an abbreviation of "Lycanthrope."

Terastas wrote:"Gestalt" I'm pretty sure has been used before, though I couldn't tell you where or why.

"Gestalt" was not used in werewolf terms before Freeborn.


Do a Google search. You'll be suprised at what comes up.

Figarou wrote:

Terastas wrote:"Gestalt" I'm pretty sure has been used before, though I couldn't tell you where or why.

"Gestalt" was not used in werewolf terms before Freeborn.


Do a Google search. You'll be suprised at what comes up.

And AB's said it won't be used IN Freeborn either. (IIRC, maybe he changed that...)

Its kinda like, the pack term to refer to a hybrid. Everyone knows what we're talking about when we say Gestalt.

Easier than some saying "Hybrid" some saying "Wolfman" etc.

I suppose so, otherwise there would be no real term for the "Hollywood" form.

Aki wrote:
And AB's said it won't be used IN Freeborn either. (IIRC, maybe he changed that...)

Hmmm...I'll be suprised if one of the characters says..."Shift into gestalt form." Or "We are gestalt."

Figarou wrote:"Gestalt" was not used in werewolf terms before Freeborn.

Do a Google search. You'll be suprised at what comes up.

Just did. But then I added 'werewolf' to that search and got a bunch of links to German "Werewolf: The Apocalypse" websites.

Terastas wrote:

Figarou wrote:"Gestalt" was not used in werewolf terms before Freeborn.

Do a Google search. You'll be suprised at what comes up.

Just did. But then I added 'werewolf' to that search and got a bunch of links to German "Werewolf: The Apocalypse" websites.

This is what you should be looking at.


http://chd.gse.gmu.edu/immersion/knowle ... estalt.htm

What is Gestalt?



Gestalt theory focused on the mind’s perceptive processes (Kearsley, 1998). The word "Gestalt" has no direct translation in English, but refers to "a way a thing has been gestellt ; i.e., “placed,’ or “put together’"; common translations include "form" and "shape" (EB: "Gestalt Psychology", 1999). Gaetano Kanizca refers to it as "organized structure" (Moore, Fitz, 1993). Gestalt theorists followed the basic principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In other words, the whole (a picture, a car) carried a different and altogether greater meaning than its individual components (paint, canvas, brush; or tire, paint, metal, respectively). In viewing the "whole," a cognitive process takes place — the mind makes a leap from comprehending the parts to realizing the whole.

The term "Gestalt" was used over "hybrid," because it was less confusing. A "hybrid" could describe the werewolf in general, being a hybrid of wolf and human. Some considered it too similar to saying "werewolf form." A lycanthrope is a werewolf, regardless of what form one is in.

The term "Lycan" was popularized recently with Underworld; before that movie's release, that particular name was seldom used, in spite of its obvious origin. After that movie, however, it started showing up all over the place, in a lot of werewolf fan fiction--even though most of it wasn't based on Underworld.

Scott Gardener wrote:The term "Gestalt" was used over "hybrid," because it was less confusing.

In the German language, correct? I don't think gestalt was used in the english language for werewolf terms until now.


Correct me if I'm wrong.

For werewolf terms, no. But it has appeared in the English language before, yes.

I'd love for werewolves to simply...number their forms. Human is 1st, full wolf is second, gestalt is third.

(I'd like to add that I for one, unlike many others, am of the belief that the gestalt form is a whole other form unto itself. It is not merely a halfway point between wolf and human, nor is it a 'hybrid'. It is wholly separate body that is a blending of man and wolf/uber canine. One does not have to go through gestalt to get to wolf, as it is a different form in its own right. That is why it is third, not second. Also, three is a much more dramatic and powerful number.)

I would just love to hear two werewolf characters in a movie hiding and whispering. One would be in favor of fleeing from some sort of danger (werewolf hunter, perhaps) and the other of standing and fighting.

"He is coming." (burly, battle-hardened guy says resolutely and matter-of-factly)

"What do we do?" (small, weak little guy says in obvious fear)

"We will transform." (Coldly, fearlessly, with furrowed eyebrows)

"Second form?" (frantically, quite ready to get outta there)

"No....Third." (Voice hardening in resolve, ready to face the danger)

"*gasp*" (unable to believe what he has just heard)


That might read as kinda silly to y'all, but if you can imagine it in your head as I see it, it's very dramatic and spine-chilling.

Excelsia wrote:"He is coming." (burly, battle-hardened guy says resolutely and matter-of-factly)

"What do we do?" (small, weak little guy says in obvious fear)

"We will transform." (Coldly, fearlessly, with furrowed eyebrows)

"Second form?" (frantically, quite ready to get outta there)

"No....Third." (Voice hardening in resolve, ready to face the danger)

"*gasp*" (unable to believe what he has just heard)

They sound like secret goverment agents there to me.

Oh well. I can picture it in my head, but I guess I can't write it out right now. Shucks.

Either way, my main point was that the names for the forms don't have to be cool and original to come across well. Every single werewolf movie that comes out doesn't have to invent a new title for the gestalt form.