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goblin - 5 dictionary results
gob⋅lin
[gob-lin] 
lɪn
–noun
| a grotesque sprite or elf that is mischievous or malicious toward people. |
Synonyms:
Goblin, gnome, gremlin refer to supernatural beings thought to be malevolent to people. Goblins are demons of any size, usually in human or animal form, that are supposed to assail, afflict, and even torture human beings: “Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd, …” (Shak. Hamlet I, iv). Gnomes are small beings, like ugly little old men, who live in the earth, guarding mines, treasures, etc. They are mysteriously malevolent and terrify human beings by causing dreadful mishaps to occur. Gremlins are thought to disrupt machinery and are active in modern folklore.
Goblin, gnome, gremlin refer to supernatural beings thought to be malevolent to people. Goblins are demons of any size, usually in human or animal form, that are supposed to assail, afflict, and even torture human beings: “Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd, …” (Shak. Hamlet I, iv). Gnomes are small beings, like ugly little old men, who live in the earth, guarding mines, treasures, etc. They are mysteriously malevolent and terrify human beings by causing dreadful mishaps to occur. Gremlins are thought to disrupt machinery and are active in modern folklore.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To goblin
| 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.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Goblin
Gob"lin\, n. [OE. gobelin, F. gobelin, LL. gobelinus, fr. Gr. ? knave, a mischievous goblin; or cf. G. kobold, E. kobold, cobalt, Armor. gobilin an ignis fatuus, goblin.] An evil or mischievous spirit; a playful or malicious elf; a frightful phantom; a gnome. To whom the goblin, full of wrath, replied. --Milton.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : goblin
Spanish:
duende, trasgo,
German:
der Kobold,
Japanese:
鬼
goblin
c.1327, from O.Fr. gobelin (12c., as Gobelinus, the name of a spirit haunting the region of Evreux), of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Ger. kobold (see cobalt), or from M.L. cabalus, from Gk. kobalos "rogue, knave," kobaloi "wicked spirits invoked by rogues." Another suggestion is that it is a dim. of the proper name Gobel.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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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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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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