Wyvern folklore is rarely fire-breathing like the four-legged dragon. Sometimes modern fantasy book and media authors have wyverns that are frost-breathing or poison-breathing instead of fire-breathing. The current spelling "wyvern" is not attested before the seventeenth century as "winged two-footed dragon". According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it is an alteration of Middle English "wyver" (attested thirteenth century), from Anglo-French "wivre" (cf. French "guivre" and "vouivre"), which originate from Latin "vīpera", meaning "viper", "adder", or "asp". Conversely, medievalist William Sayers proposes a more complex origin for the term. He notes that the Anglo-French "guivre" and its Middle English derivative ceased to
Wyvern (vessel) she was given to Stavanger Maritime Museum as a cultural monument by Crown Prince Haakon. Sailed by volunteers, she has represented Stavanger in several national and international sailing regattas and gatherings, including five Tall Ship races. On 11 July 2013, during the 2013 Tall Ships' Race, "Wyvern" started to take in water between the Swedish islands Gotland and Öland. Sweden’s air and sea rescue service retrieved the ten crew members; "Wyvern" sank about four hours after she had sent her distress call. Three crew members from the Dutch sailship "Wylde Swan", which also participated in the Tall Ships' race, went