Were
Were
Archaic term for an adult male human
Were and wer are archaic terms for adult male humans and were often used for alliteration with wife as "were and wife" in Germanic-speaking cultures[1] (Old English: wer, Old Dutch: wer, Gothic: waír, Old Frisian: wer, Old Saxon: wer, Old High German: wer, Old Norse: verr).
In Anglo-Saxon law wer was the value of a man's life. He could be required to pay his wer to the king as a penalty for crime.[2] If he was murdered then his relatives were entitled to his wergild as compensation from the murderer.