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hobgoblin

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hob⋅gob⋅lin

  [hob-gob-lin]
Use hobgoblin in a Sentence
–noun
1. something causing superstitious fear; a bogy.
2. a mischievous goblin.
3. (initial capital letter) Puck (def. 1).
Origin:
1520–30; hob 2 + goblin
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Puck

  [puhk]
–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:
bef. 1000; ME pouke, OE pūca; c. ON pūki a mischievous demon
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To hobgoblin
hob·gob·lin   (hŏb'gŏb'lĭn)   
n.  

  1. An ugly, mischievous elf or goblin.

  2. An object or a source of fear, dread, or harassment; a bugbear: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).

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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Word Origin & History

puck 
"hockey disk," 1891, possibly from puck (v.) "to hit, strike" (1861), which perhaps is related to poke (q.v.) via notion of "push." Another suggestion traces the noun to Ir. poc "bag." Puckster headlinese for "ice hockey player" is attested from 1939.

hobgoblin 
1530, from hob "elf," from Hobbe, a variant of Rob (cf. Hick for Richard, Hodge for Rodger, etc.), short for Robin Goodfellow, elf character in Ger. folklore, + goblin. The original hobbyhorse was a "Tourney Horse," a wooden or basketwork frame worn around the waist and held on with shoulder straps, with a fake tail and horse head attached, so the wearer appears to be riding a horse. These were part of church and civic celebrations at Midsummer and New Year's throughout England.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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