Were-worms
- "Tell me what you want done, and I will try it, if I have to walk from here to the East of East and fight the wild Were-worms in the Last Desert."
- ― Bilbo Baggins, from The Hobbit, "An Unexpected Party"
Were-worms were creatures of an unknown kind, possibly mythical and presumably related to Dragons, that were said to dwell in the Last Desert.
Tolkien only ever mentions Were-worms once, in the quote given above, so we know almost nothing about them. We cannot even be certain that they actually existed — the Hobbits had a rich folklore full of fantastic creatures, and Were-worms quite possibly fall into that category.
Etymology
The element "were-" is a Germanic term that refers to humans. It suggests a shapeshifting creature like the werewolf of modern-day folktales. In Middle-earth, "Werewolves", such as Draugluin, did not shapechange and the name perhaps refers to the size and intelligence.
Thus Were-worms, if they did exist, could be a human-like type of Dragon, though this must remain in the realm of speculation.
| Legendary races of Arda | |
| Animals: | Dumbledors · Gorcrows · Hummerhorns · Pards · Swans of Gorbelgod · Turtle-fish |
|---|---|
| Dragon-kind: | Sea-serpents · Spark-dragons · Were-worms |
| Evil Races: | Ettens · Giants · Half-trolls · Hobgoblins · Ogres · Snow-trolls · Two-headed Trolls |
| Other: | Badger-folk · Great beasts · Lintips · Mewlips · Nameless things · Spectres |
| Individuals: | Talking Gurthang · Talking purse · The Hunter · Lady of the Sun · Lonely Troll · Man in the Moon · The Rider · River-woman · Tarlang · Tim · Tom · White cow |
