goblin

The story

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*pūkô“a goblin, spook”
2. Ancient Greek · derived fromκόβαλος“rogue, knave; goblin”
3. Late Latin · derived fromcobalus“mountain sprite”
4. Old Dutch · derived from*kobeholdo“goblin”
5. Old Northern French · derived fromgobelin
6. Middle English · inherited fromgobelyn
7. English todaygoblin

From Middle English gobelyn, from Old Northern French gobelin (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 from Proto-Germanic *pūkô (“a goblin, spook”), whence English puck.

Words from the same roots