Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun
1.
Also called Hobgoblin, Robin Goodfellow. a particularly mischievous sprite in English folklore who appears as a character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's dream.
2.
(lowercase) a malicious or mischievous demon or spirit; a goblin.
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English pouke, Old English pūca; cognate with Old Norse pūki a mischievous demon
before 1000; Middle English pouke, Old English pūca; cognate with Old Norse pūki a mischievous demon
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To Puck
00:10
Puck
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
puck1 (pʌk) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a small disc of hard rubber used in ice hockey |
| 2. | a stroke at the ball in hurling |
| 3. | slang (Irish) a sharp blow |
| —vb | |
| 4. | to strike (the ball) in hurling |
| 5. | slang (Irish) to strike hard; punch |
| [C19: of unknown origin] | |
| puck2 (pʌk) | |
| —n | |
| (often capital) Also called: Robin Goodfellow a mischievous or evil spirit | |
| [Old English pūca, of obscure origin] | |
| 'puckish2 | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
puck
"hockey disk," 1891, possibly from puck (v.) "to hit, strike" (1861), which perhaps is related to poke via notion of "push." Another suggestion traces the noun to Ir. poc "bag." Puckster headlinese for "ice hockey player" is attested from 1939.
Puck
"mischievous fairy" (in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"), probably from pouke "devil, evil spirit" (c.1300), from O.E. puca, cognate with O.N. puki "devil," of unknown origin (cf. pug). Capitalized since 16c. His disguised name was Robin Goodfellow.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
puck
in medieval English folklore, a malicious fairy or demon. In Old and Middle English the word meant simply "demon." In Elizabethan lore he was a mischievous, brownielike fairy also called Robin Goodfellow, or Hobgoblin. As one of the leading characters in William Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, Puck boasts of his pranks of changing shapes, misleading travelers at night, spoiling milk, frightening young girls, and tripping venerable old dames. The Irish pooka, or puca, and the Welsh pwcca are similar household spirits
Learn more about puck with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Still, it's an easily navigable hockey puck with controls that actually not excruciatingly difficult to use.
Sharp steel cut deep in cloudy ice as agile sinews swung hooked stick at elusive puck.
So, let's skate to where the puck will be and invest in electric vehicles.
The only problem: it had decomposed into the equivalent of a solid hockey puck.
Images for Puck
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
