In old English law. This term was used as descriptive of the con-dltion of an outlaw. Such persons were said to carry a wolf’s head, (caput lupinum;) for if caught alive they were to be brought to the king, and if they defended themselves they might be slain and their heads carried to the king, for they were no more to be ac-counted of than wolves. Termes de la Ley, “woolferthfod
Source: Black's Law Dictionary 2nd Ed (1910)
