Lycanthropy

Lycanthropy is the term given to the disease or curse that causes someone to transform into a werewolf on full moons. While the term werewolf is often used for these people at all times, it's technical use in the healing fields especially, is reserved for the transformed state.

Lycanthropy cannot be contracted by Muggles as the transformation requires a magical core and suffers face widespread social stigma and fear.

Some authors, like Arsenius Jigger in his work The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts, asserted that its correct use was of describing a mental disease of fantasising being a wolf and, thus, preferred the term werewolfry, when referring to the condition of being a werewolf. Most modern healers, even those biased against lycanthropes, would not recommend this particular academic work.