means The plural of wolf — large wild canines that hunt in coordinated packs and are the ancestors of domestic dogs.

from From Old English 'wulf,' a word that runs deep through the Germanic family — German 'Wolf,' Dutch 'wolf,' Old Norse 'úlfr' all share the same ancestor, and it traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*wlkwos,' a cousin of Latin 'lupus' and Greek 'lykos' (the 'lyk-' behind 'werewolf' and 'lycanthropy'). The unusual plural 'wolves,' with its f-to-v softening, follows the same old pattern as 'leaf/leaves' and 'knife/knives.'