English Explanatory Dictionary

hobgoblin

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A small, ugly goblin that makes trouble for humans.
  2. A source of dread, fear or apprehension; a bugbear.

Pronunciation

/hɒbˈɡɒb.lɪn/ /hɑbˈɡɑb.lɪn/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-hobgoblin.wav

Word forms

hobgoblin hobgoblins

Etymology

From hob (“elf”, from Hob, a variant of Rob, short for Robin Goodfellow, an elf in Germanic folklore) + goblin.

Synonyms

goblin

Derived words

a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds hobgoblinish hobgoblinism hobgoblinry
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on H Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary