pukwudgie

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noun

A creature in Algonquian (Lenape and Wampanoag) folklore, typically said to be a short humanoid with magical abilities; the creatures were once friendly to humans but have become malicious tricksters.

Scrabble 20

Meanings

nounpukwudgie (plural pukwudgies)

plural pukwudgies

  1. A creature in Algonquian (Lenape and Wampanoag) folklore, typically said to be a short humanoid with magical abilities; the creatures were once friendly to humans but have become malicious tricksters.

    Draw and paint your own version of a pukwudgie.

    1988, Sharron L. McElmeel, An Author a Month: For Pennies, Teacher Ideas Press
    4 more examples

    […] cliff-dwellers, the many-footed rock lovers finding foothold where you would hardly think the lichens even would survive. I never tramp these roads, which it sometimes seems as if the pukwudgies moved about in the night […]

    1910, Winthrop Packard, Woodland Paths, page 84

    The Narrow Land was in chaos in those days, because the pukwudgies were always causing trouble and the good giant Maushop was often too lazy to help. Jean Fritz has drawn from old legends to write of the formation of Cape Cod and the ...

    1982, Jean Fritz, The good giants and the bad pukwudgies, Putnam Pub Group

    And so the pukwudgies had the final laugh. They'd beaten the cruel giant, who ended up floating out to sea. The pukwudgies stood on a cliff and waved goodbye, then flew back into the forest.

    1997, Clayton Emery, The Tale of the Campfire Vampires, Aladdin Paperbacks, →ISBN

    Yes, the internet is rife with tales of the little people, but that did me little good for finding out more about the Piedmont Pukwudgie or any pukwudgie specific to Alabama.

    2018, Wil Elrick, Alabama Lore: The Choccolocco Monster, Huggin' Molly, the Lost Town of Cottonport and Other Mysterious Tales, Arcadia Publishing, →ISBN, page 71
Cite this entry
APA

pukwudgie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pukwudgie

MLA

“pukwudgie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pukwudgie. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pukwudgie,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pukwudgie.

Source: pukwudgie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.