[gob-lin] 
| a grotesque sprite or elf that is mischievous or malicious toward people. |
| gob·lin (gŏb'lĭn) n. A grotesque elfin creature of folklore, thought to work mischief or evil. [Middle English gobelin, from Norman French *gobelin, name of a ghost that supposedly haunted the town of Évreux in the 12th century.] |
goblin
in Western folklore, a wandering sprite that is usually mischievous but often malicious. Goblins supposedly live in grottoes but attach themselves to households, where they are believed to bang upon pots and pans, snatch nightclothes off the bodies of sleeping people, move furniture at night, and flee after rapping on walls and doors. They are thought to help parents discipline children by rewarding the latter with presents when they are good and punishing them when they are disobedient. The word goblin derives from the Greek kobalos ("rogue").
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lɪn
