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A Slavic construction, from *u- + *pyřь, “flyer” with a privative prefix. Compare *netopyřь. According to this hypothesis *ǫpyrь could have originated as a taboo for *vьlkolakъ (cf. vukodlak).
Mel’nyčuk offers a different explanation, a Slavic construction from *ǫ- + *pyr-, “not burned”, with a privative prefix attached to a root meaning “fire”. The word would then indicate an uncremated corpse. He also lists alternative suggestions that others had proposed: a possible connection with *pyřь(“flyer”), as above; or from *vъ- + *pěrь as a coinage related to vrěpiti (“to cling”), supposedly because a vampire bites and clings to its victims.
Mel’nyčuk further proposes that the forms with initial vam- were derived by way of Old Church Slavonic *вѫпиръ(*vǫpirŭ) with prothetic *в-, borrowed into Byzantine Greek as βαμπύρος(bampúros) and then borrowed back into the South Slavic languages.
* The second form occurs in languages that contract early across /j/ (e.g. Czech), while the first form occurs in languages that do not (e.g. Russian).
^ Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “упырь”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
Further reading
Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “упы́рь”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
Skok, Petar (1973) “Proto-Slavic/ǫpyrь”, in Etimologijski rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika [Etymological Dictionary of the Croatian or Serbian Language] (in Serbo-Croatian), volumes 3 (poni² – Ž), Zagreb: JAZU, page 564
Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1982–2012), “Proto-Slavic/ǫpyrь”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka