gremlin

English

Etymology

Possibly from Middle English gremly (“terrible”) (compare Old English gremman, gremian (“to provoke; irritate; anger; vex”)) +‎ -lin, -ling; related to German grämen, Swedish gräma (“to grieve”). Compare goblin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹɛm.lɪn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

gremlin (plural gremlins)

1. A mythical creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery.
2. (by extension) Any mysterious, unknown source of trouble or mischief.

   We rechecked everything, and we suspect gremlins in the database.

3. (surfing, slang) A young inexperienced surfer.

   Synonyms: gremmie, gremmy

Translations

mythical creature

• Bulgarian: гном m (gnom)
• Finnish: riiviö (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: καλικάντζαρος (el) m (kalikántzaros)

References

• “gremlin”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

• merling, mingler