Furry Terms
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Furries are a large group of people on the web and in the real world who enjoy anthromorphic animals. They can trace this enjoyment back to ancient Egypt with it's animal-headed deities, and folktales involving talking animals right up to present times with "funny animals" like Bugs Bunny. Of course, being a Furry is much more than being a "funny animal" and the group is so large and diverse that they can make whatever they want of it. However, there are a few terms and concepts that are widely recognised, and a number of them are briefly defined here: |
| Term |
Definition |
| Anthro |
Short for Anthromorphic |
| Anthromorph / Anthromorphic |
1. Common use is an animal possessing human human characteristics and features. 2. something possessing human like qualities, but is an animal, mineral or vegetable. |
| Catgirl |
A curiously Japanese creation, which varies widely. Essentially a girl with cat features, these features can range from obviously being in a costume, to just having cat ears on their head, to being a fully fledged furry. See also Neko / Nekko. |
| Chakat |
Term coined by Bernard Doove. Essentially, a feline centaur, often featured with a humanoid catlike head, torso, and arms above the waist and a full feline body with four paws below the waist. They are Hermaphroditic (see Hermaphrodite) with genders of both sexes. The label is sometimes applied generically to non-equine taurs as well. See also Taur, Quange. |
| Chimera |
A little used term for a genetically engineered human hybrid. See Hybrid. |
| Code |
1. A sequence of figures that when assembled generate something recognizable, such as a message or a biological entity. See also Furcode. |
| -Con |
Short for Conference. Combined with other words (AnthroCon, FurCon, etc) to denote real-world gatherings of fans for certain genres. |
| Cynnocephalus |
From the Greek, literally "Dog-Head". A race of humans with dog heads according to travelers tales dating back as far as the fifth century B.C., and related as late as the twelfth century A.D. by Marco Polo. While resembling werewolves with their hairy bodies, they are usually described as vegetarians, and have no real transformational abilities. |
| Funny Animal |
A "mainstream" term sometimes inadvertently applied to Furries. To Furrys, it is usually reserved for funny cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Donald Duck and so on. |
| Fur |
Also see Furry. Here it is used to denote art or situations where the character involved is a talking animal, rather than an anthromorphic one. |
| Furcode |
A short set of characters used online to define a person's Fursona so that others can quickly get a feel for who they are. |
| Furdom |
A term for the Furry community at large. |
| Furfen |
Furry fans. |
| Furplay |
A Furry version of "Foreplay". Although it has sexual connotations, it can also mean Furs just having fun with each other. |
| Furrotica |
Furry erotica. |
| Furry |
1. Anthromorphic animals - essentially people with animal features. 2. Fans of anthromorphic animals. This is a HUGE group on the internet. |
| Furson |
A Furry version of Person. |
| Fursona |
Loosely speaking, the guise adopted by Furries in role playing games or online chats. |
| Fursuit |
A costume created to emulate a person's own fursona (see above) or their favorite Furry character. See also Suits. |
| "Furverse" |
A broad term covering realities where characters are furry. There are three types to consider: The first ignores the issue of why carnivores and herbivores are getting along in a civilized manner completely, because it is not relevant to the story. The second implies that Humans exit, or did exist and somehow are responsible for the creation of the Furry characters. The third features Humans and Furries co-existing, either because that is the way it always has been (often used in Fantasy stories) or because Furries were created to aid humans and may or may not have equal rights (often used in Science Fiction stories). |
| Furvert |
1. Someone who likes Furry erotica. 2. Any Furry fan. |
| "Hairless Apes" |
An insult sometimes used by Furries or anthromorphic characters (or furry aliens) in reference to humans. |
| Humanimal |
An alternative self-descriptive name for a Furry. It is usually used in fiction as a self-reference when the Furries in question become aware or are aware of the existance of humans. |
| Hybreed |
An alternative term for a Furry, or other half-human half something else mix. Derived obviously from the term "Hybrod" (see next entry) |
| Hybrid |
An organism that combines features or qualities from two different species in the hopes of producing a new species with the best qualities of it's parent species. It does not always work out as well as one hopes- for instance, aggressive African Bees (popularly known as "Killer Bees") brought into South America to help the honey industry there escaped and have been taking over domesticated European honey bee hives and have entered the southern United States via Mexico. |
| Lob Ombre |
Spanish for Werewolf. |
| Lob Omem |
Portugueese for Werewolf |
| Lobison |
In Brazil and Uraguay, a werewolf or wereboar. |
| Loup Garou |
French for Werewolf. In Haiti, it is also applied to a vampire like monster. |
| Lung |
A generic Chinese term for Dragon. |
| Lupo manaro |
Italian for werewolf. |
| Lycanthrope |
The Greek term for Werewolf. |
| Lycanthropy |
1. The ability to change from human to a wolf. 2. Werewolf. |
| Macrofurry |
A larger than normal furry, usually a giant Furry. |
| Manimal |
1. A television show of the 1980's featuring a man that could transform himself into an animal via an arcane sort of meditation. 2. Sometimes an alternative term for "Furry" (Usually used by people unaware of the TV show) |
| Microfurry |
A much smaller than normal Furry. |
| Minotaur |
1. Literally the "Bull of Minos". In classic mythology, a carnivorous beast with the head of a bull and the body of a man. This monster, which resided in the Labyrinth on Crete under the Palace of Knossos. The beast was eventually slain by the hero Theseus. While the beast may have been fiction, the Palace of Knossos does exist, and its ruins may be visited today. 2. Any humanoid with a bull's or cow's head (may be applied to male or female morphs.). |
| Morph |
1. Short for Anthromorph. 2. Shapeshifting or a shapeshifter. 3. The name of a shapeshifting character featured in Marvel Comics. |
| Morphic |
Short for Anthromorphic. A being or thing described with a cross of human and animal characteristics. |
| MUCK |
An interactive social online role playing game. Many are centered around a general topic. |
| Mundane |
1. Term used by Furries for someone who is not a Furry fan. 2. Term used in Piers Anthony's Xanth series for a non-magical person. 3. A "Normal, Boring" person. |
| Neko/Nekko |
Japanese for "Cat" - Japanese Cat Girl pages are very popular. |
| Nekomimi |
Japanese for Cat Girl. |
| -Phile |
The liker or lover of some topic, usually specified by the prefix. a Furryphile for instance is a liker or lover of Furries. |
| Plushies |
People who like plush animals. |
| Quange |
A term coined by Roy D.Pounds II. A centaur with a horse's head rather than a human head. Also known as an Equitaur. |
| Skin(s) |
Prior to costumes, some legends speak of people who don animal skins and become that animal - or animals who shed their skin and reveal that they are human. The tradition sort of carries on today with costumes (See Fursuits, Suits). |
| Suits |
1. A costume, usually full bodied in nature, which resembles a person's favorite character or personal character in the real world. 2. In some fiction stories, a magical plot device used to transform the character into another character. Depending on the plot, the person may just look exactly like the person whose 'suit' they donned, or they might be overwhelmed by the character's personality and become that character. |
| Taur |
Short for Centaur, the term is also used for a half human (from the waist up) with the lower body, complete with four legs of an animal of one's choice (ie, cattaur, wolftaur, etc) See also, Centaur, Chakat. |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles |
"Heroes in a half shell". The initial four characters (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael) are normal turtles that mutated into humanoid turtles thanks to a liberal dose of mutagen (see Mutagen). Appearing in the early 1980's the one-shot comic was a surprise hit and spawned not only a major toy product and cartoon line, but also a revolution in independent comic book publishing and collecting that abruptly screeched to a halt by the end of that decade. In that time there was a host of imitators, including "Pre Teen Dirty Gene Kung-Fu Kangaroos" and "Geriatric Ju-Jutsu Gerbils" but not achieved the fame of the Turtles. |
| Therianthropy |
Another term for Werecreature. |
| -thropy/ - thropic |
Having the characteristics or ability to change into an animal (determined by the prefix) |
| United Species of America |
An oft-used term in Furry comics and stories as a sort of furry version of the "United States of America". |
| Versipellis |
In Latin, "Turnskin" - an ancient Roman term for werewolf. |
| Vixen |
1. A female fox. 2. A foxy female. |
| Wer-wold |
German for Werewolf. |
| Were- |
Generally, shorthand for werewolf, although it is applied to any human who changes from a human state to an animal state and back due to a curse, the full moon, or own self determination. |
| Werebeing |
An alternative term to Werecreature. |
| Werecat |
Many cultures have legends about werewolves, a creature that roams the night as a wolf or humanoid wolf, and walks as a human during the day. In cultures where wolves or similar canines are not known, the local dominant feline is substituted for a wolf, spawning tales of were-tigers, were-jaguars and so forth by local names. This would seem to indicate a common ancesteral tale of some sort, modified through time and alterations in local oral traditions. |
| Werecreature |
A broad term that covers any person who has the ability to change from a human form to a significantly different form and back again due to a curse, the full moon or own self determination. It is best used as a plural designation, when referring to groups of two or more people who can change into significantly different creatures (say, a Werewolf and a Werecat) or when the species you are confronted with is not readily identifiable. While the term Therianthropy is also used to describe this condition, werecreature is more recognizable. Traditionally, werecreatures are vulnerable to silver, magic, or wounds caused by another werecreature. |
| Wereform |
An alternative to werecreature, although it is sometimes used to refer to a state halfway between a full human and a full animal (ie, an anthromorphic animal) |
| Werewolf |
1. A person who changes into a wolf or wolf-like humanoid and back due to a curse, the full moon or self-determination. The legend itself seems to have originated in ancient Greece or Rome, although all cultures have legends of similar half-human and half animal hybrids. 2. The Wolfman. |
| Yerf |
1. A sound made by a fox. 2. A genre of "Squeaky Clean" Furry art and writing that has no sexual connotations whatsoever. |
| Yiff |
1. Another sound made by a fox. 2. Furry sex. 3. To have sex with. |
| Yiffy |
1. Erotic or sexy. 2. Furry sex. 3. Something exciting, or of interest. |
| Zig Zag |
A favorite Furry character created by Max Blackrabbit, Zig-Zag is a cross between a skunk and a siberian tiger, and in the comics usually has a career in "Adult" films. |
| Zooanthropy |
The ability to change into an animal. (See -Thropy) |
