gremlin

The story

1. Dutch · derived fromgremmelen“to soil, stain; to spoil”
2. Irish · derived fromgruaimín“gloomy little person”
3. English todaygremlin

Uncertain; the following etymologies have been suggested: * A variant of goblin. * From Irish gruaimín (“gloomy little person”); or from Dutch gremmelen (“to soil, stain; to spoil”), or griemelen, grimmelen (“(obsolete) to abound, teem; to swarm”); but Oxford English Dictionary says there is little evidence for such derivations. The word was popularized, especially in the United States, by the children’s novel The Gremlins (1943) by British author Roald Dahl (1916–1990), in which gremlins sabotage Royal Air Force aircraft in revenge for the destruction of their forest home to make way for an aircraft factory; the creatures later join forces with the British to fight the Nazis.

First known use, by meaning

• from 1920s A contemptible person.
• from 1920s An imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined, for example, to damage or dismantle machinery.
• from 1960s A young, inexperienced surfer or skateboarder, regarded as a nuisance.