goblin

See also: GOBLin

English

A modern goblin.

Etymology

From Middle English gobelyn, from (compare Norman goubelin, Walloon gobelin), possibly a blend of Old Dutch *kobeholdo (“goblin”) (compare Dutch kabouter, German Kobold) and Late Latin cobalus (“mountain sprite”), from Ancient Greek κόβαλος (kóbalos, “rogue, knave; goblin”). Displaced native Old English pūca.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɑb.lɪn/
• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɒb.lɪn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophone: GOBLin

Noun

goblin (plural goblins)

1. One of various hostile supernatural creatures, now especially (fantasy literature) a malevolent and grotesque diminutive humanoid, often associated with orcs or trolls.
   • c. 1620 anonymous, “Tom o’ Bedlam’s Song” in Giles Earle his Booke (British Museum, Additional MSS. 24, 665):

     From yͤ hagg & hungry Goblin,
     yͭ into raggs would rend yee,
     & yͤ spirit yͭ stand’s by yͤ naked man,
     in yͤ booke of moones defend yee

   • 1872, George MacDonald, The Princess and the Goblin, page 50,

     " […] If he had struck a stroke more to the side just here," said the goblin, tapping the very stone, as it seemed to Curdie, against which his head lay, "he would have been through; but he's a couple of yards past it now, and if he follow the lode it will be a week before it leads him in. […] "

   • 2006, Charlotte Bishop, Norty: The Chosen Ones, page 187,

     At last the goblins had a chance to rid themselves of one of the troublesome defenders, and two goblin warriors snatched the opportunity.

   • 2010, Thom L. Nichols, War: Return of the Elves, Part 1, page 37,

     The goblin shifted the two younger ones closer to him. It looked like he was hiding behind them, using them as a shield.

     The goblin looked pure evil. His eyes were brown.

   • 2010, D. S. Macleod, The Middle Times: Rise of the Goblin King, page 229,

     I shall send another entourage of goblins back here to Desput with the goblins’ new ally the Pixy! These creatures deserve the same respect as any other goblin.

   • 2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 76:

     Risk is everywhere. From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins. For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you.

Synonyms

• hobgoblin; bug, buggard, bugbear, bog, bogey, bogy, bogie, boggard, boggart, baggard, bogle, boggle, bugaboo, bug-a-boo; elf, kobold, sprite, fairy, fay, fey, fae, faerie, puck, hob (sometimes distinguished, especially in fantasy literature)
• See also Thesaurus:goblin

Derived terms

• gobbo
• goblette
• goblincore
• goblindom
• goblinesque
• gobliness
• goblinish
• goblinize
• goblinkind
• goblinlike
• goblin mode
• goblinoid
• goblinry
• goblin shark
• goblin spider (family Oonopidae)
• hobgoblin

 

Translations

hostile diminutive humanoid in fantasy literature

• Basque: iratxo, intxisu
• Breton: korrigan (br) m
• Bulgarian: го́блин m (góblin), таласъм (bg) m (talasǎm)
• Catalan: follet (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 哥布林 (zh) (gēbùlín), 妖怪 (zh) (yāoguài)

• Czech: šotek m, skřítek m, skřet (cs) m
• Danish: nisse c, trold c
• Dutch: aardmannetje (nl) n, kobold (nl) m
• Esperanto: koboldo
• Estonian: pahared
• Finnish: haltija (fi), peikko (fi), hiisi (fi)
• French: gobelin (fr) m, lutin (fr) m, farfadet (fr) m
• Galician: trasno (gl) m, provizo m, xas m, abelurio (gl) m, abutardo m, papón (gl) m
• Georgian: გობლინი (goblini)
• German: Kobold (de) m
• Greek: καλικάντζαρος (el) m (kalikántzaros), ξωτικό (el) n (xotikó)
• Hawaiian: ʻeʻepa pauʻaka
• Hungarian: lidérc (hu), kobold
• Icelandic: svartálfur (is) m
• Indonesian: hantu (id)
• Irish: púca m
• Italian: folletto (it) m, goblin (it) m
• Japanese: ゴブリン (goburin)
• Korean: 도깨비 (ko) (dokkaebi), 고블린 (gobeullin)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: cinok m or f, şeytanok (ku) m or f

• Latin: gobelinus m, cobalus m
• Malay: afrit
• Maori: taipo, kākarepō
• Marathi: गॉब्लिन m (gŏblin)
• Norwegian: nisse (no) ?
• Ojibwe: wiindigoo
• Old English: pūca m
• Polish: goblin (pl)
• Portuguese: duende (pt) m, goblin (pt) m
• Romanian: iazmă (ro) f
• Russian: го́блин (ru) m (góblin)
• Santali: ᱵᱷᱩᱛ (bhut)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: гоблин m

  Roman: goblin m

• Slovene: škrat (sl) m
• Spanish: duende (es) m, trasgo (es) m
• Swahili: zimwi (sw)
• Swedish: vätte (sv)
• Tagalog: tianak, patianak
• Turkish: küçük şeytan
• Welsh: ellyll (cy) m, ŵyll m
• West Frisian: ierdmantsje n

Anagrams

• Boglin, Boling, globin, lobing

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Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from English goblin, from Middle English gobelyn, from .

Noun

1. goblin

Declension

Declension of goblin

	singular	plural
nominative	goblin	gobliny
genitive	goblina	goblinów
dative	goblinowi	goblinom
accusative	goblina	gobliny
instrumental	goblinem	goblinami
locative	goblinie	goblinach
vocative	goblinie	gobliny

Further reading

• goblin in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• goblin in Polish dictionaries at PWN

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Serbo-Croatian

Noun

goblin m (Cyrillic spelling гоблин)

1. goblin

Declension

Declension of goblin

	singular	plural
nominative	goblin	goblini
genitive	goblina	goblina
dative	goblinu	goblinima
accusative	goblina	gobline
vocative	gobline	goblini
locative	goblinu	goblinima
instrumental	goblinom	goblinima