gob·lin

(gŏb′lĭn)

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.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

goblin

(ˈɡɒblɪn)

(European Myth & Legend) (in folklore) a small grotesque supernatural creature, regarded as malevolent towards human beings

[C14: from Old French, from Middle High German kobolt; compare cobalt]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

gob•lin

(ˈgɒb lɪn)

n.

a grotesque sprite that is mischievous or malicious.

[1300–50; < Middle French < Middle High German kobold goblin; see kobold]

syn: goblin, gnome, gremlin refer to supernatural beings thought to be malevolent to people. goblins are demons of any size, usu. in human or animal form, that are supposed to afflict and even torture human beings. gnomes are small ugly creatures that 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.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

goblin - (folklore) a small grotesque supernatural creature that makes trouble for human beings

hob, hobgoblin

folklore - the unwritten lore (stories and proverbs and riddles and songs) of a culture

evil spirit - a spirit tending to cause harm

Translations

عِفْريت قَبيح المنظَر

skřítek

nissetrold

Kobold Schrat Steppke

trasgo

lutin

álfur, púki

folletto folletto malvagio spirito maligno

aitvaraskaukas

rūķisvelniņš

troll

gulyabanî

小妖精顽皮的丑小鬼

goblin

[ˈgɒblɪn] N → duende m, trasgo m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

goblin

[ˈgɒblɪn] n → lutin m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

goblin

n → Kobold m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

goblin

[ˈgɒblɪn] n → folletto

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

goblin

(ˈgoblin) noun

a mischievous, ugly spirit. a frightening fairy-story about goblins.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

"No; look out for the part where you think you have done with the goblins and they come back," breathed Helen, as the music started with a goblin walking quietly over the universe, from end to end.

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So here goes, to give the goblin a fair start in a new one.

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Mother Maudlin then calls for Puck-hairy, her goblin. He appears, crying:

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He affirmed that on returning one night from the neighboring village of Sing Sing, he had been overtaken by this midnight trooper; that he had offered to race with him for a bowl of punch, and should have won it too, for Daredevil beat the goblin horse all hollow, but just as they came to the church bridge, the Hessian bolted, and vanished in a flash of fire.

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But, awake and standing on his feet upon the boards where he had lately lain, he saw this Goblin Sight.

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It is still very easy to believe in fairies when you see those goblin lanterns glimmering among the fir tassels.

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The wine was strong and the gourd capacious, so he also began to sing after a fashion, and soon I had the delight of feeling the iron grip of his goblin legs unclasp, and with one vigorous effort I threw him to the ground, from which he never moved again.

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I had seen the damp lying on the outside of my little window, as if some goblin had been crying there all night, and using the window for a pocket-handkerchief.

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The night will soon fall; this forest is most wild and lonely; strange noises are often heard therein after sunset; wolves haunt these glades, and Danish warriors infest the country; worse things are talked of; you might chance to hear, as it were, a child cry, and on opening the door to afford it succour, a greet black bull, or a shadowy goblin dog, might rush over the threshold; or, more awful still, if something flapped, as with wings, against the lattice, and then a raven or a white dove flew in and settled on the hearth, such a visitor would be a sure sign of misfortune to the house; therefore, heed my advice, and lift the latchet for nothing.

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Who--like the belated traveler that stands watching fairy revels till he snatches and drains the goblin cup and springs into the whirling circle--can view the mad tumult and not be drawn into its midst?

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It was hard for them to realize that it was a man, for he seemed a weird jungle spirit, a goblin of the forest.

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By dint of dwelling upon this theme, he carried the impression with him when he went away; as he remembered, when a child, to have had frequently before him the figure of some goblin he had once seen chalked upon a door.

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