hobgoblinn.adj.
/ˌhɒbˈɡɒblɪn/, /ˈhɒbˌɡɒblɪn/, U.S. /ˈhɑbˌɡɑblən/ 1. A mischievous, tricksy imp or sprite; another name for Puck or Robin Goodfellow; hence, a terrifying apparition, a bogy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > fairy or elf > [noun] > imp, goblin, or hobgoblin
thursec725
puckOE
puckleOE
goblina1350
hurlewaynes kin1399
Hoba1500
bogle?1507
chimera?1521
hobgoblin1530
chyppynutie?1553
bearbug1560
boggard1570
bugbear?c1570
empusa1572
puckerelc1580
puck bug1582
imp1584
urchin1584
fear-babea1586
hob-thrush1590
hodge-poker1598
lar1598
poker1598
bogle-bo1603
mormo1605
foliot1621
mormolukee1624
buggle-boo1625
pug1631
black man1656
feind1659
Tom Poker1673
duende1691
boodie?a1700
worricow1711
bolly1724
Tom Po1744
fleying1811
pooka1824
booger1827
alp1828
boll1847
bogy1857
beastie1867
boogie1880
shag boy1882
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 231/2 Hobgoblyng, goblin mavffe.
1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Biij An ould wyfes chat, or tale Of wiches buggs, and hobgoblings.
1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft vii. ii. 131 Robin goodfellow, and Hob gobblin were as terrible..as hags and witches be now.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream ii. i. 40 Those, that Hobgoblin call you, and sweete Puck, You doe their worke, and they shall haue good luck. View more context for this quotation
1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 81 Now he saw the Hobgoblins, and Satyrs, and Dragons of the Pit, but..after break of day they came not nigh. View more context for this quotation
a1704 T. Brown Oration in Praise Drunkenness in Wks. (1707) I. i. 50 No Hobgoblins or dancing Faries.
1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. vii. 245 Stories of ghosts and hobgoblins have always been admired and cherished by the vulgar.
1840 W. Irving Oliver Goldsmith I. 11 A huge misshapen hobgoblin used to bestride the house every evening with an immense pair of jack-boots.
2. figurative. An object which inspires superstitious dread or apprehension; a bogy, bugbear.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > fear > quality of inspiring fear > quality of terribleness > [noun] > one who or that which terrifies > object of terror (usually imaginary)
buga1425
buggart1440
gay horse1483
bogle?1507
chimera?1521
bog1527
terriculament1548
bugbear1552
bull-bear1561
hag1563
boggard1574
scare-bug1583
bull-beggar1584
kill-cow fray1589
poker1598
bug-boy1601
bogle-bo1603
mormo1605
mock-beggar1611
mormolukee1624
Tom Poker1673
raw-head1678
hobgoblin1709
bugaboo1733
Tom Po1744
spectre1774
bogy-man1862
bogy1865
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 118. ⁋1 Some of the Deceased, who I thought had been laid quietly in their Graves are such Hobgoblins in publick Assemblies.
1823 ‘G. Smith’ Not Paul, but Jesus 277 Putting an extinguisher upon this hobgoblin may have the serious good effect, of calming a mass of disquietude.
1841 R. W. Emerson Self-reliance in Ess. 1st Ser. (London ed.) 58 A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
3. humorous. An animal that causes terror.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by habits or actions > [noun] > that causes terror
hobgoblin1770
the mind > emotion > fear > quality of inspiring fear > quality of terribleness > [noun] > one who or that which terrifies > animal that causes terror
hobgoblin1770
1770 T. Gray Let. 14 Sept. in Corr. (1971) III. 1146 Here is Mr. Foljambe has got a flying hobgoblin from the E: Indies.
4. attributive and adj. Of, pertaining to, or connected with hobgoblins; like a hobgoblin.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > fairy or elf > [adjective] > of or relating to imp or goblin
hobgoblin1627
impish1652
impy1845
1627 S. Ward Life of Faith in Death (rev. ed.) 73 Phylosophie..hath taught them not to feare any such Hobgoblin spirits.
1628 G. Wither Britain's Remembrancer iii. 737 Those hobgoblin terrors of the grave.
1679 J. Dryden Troilus & Cressida Pref. sig. b His language is as hobgoblin as his person.
1801 M. Edgeworth Good French Governess in Moral Tales V. 94 The..‘Sorrows of Werter’, or some of our fashionable hobgoblin romances.
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 366 Frightening us like children with hobgoblin terrors.
Derivatives
hobˈgoblin v. (transitive) to terrify or pursue as a hobgoblin.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > fear > quality of inspiring fear > quality of terribleness > terrify [verb (transitive)]
afearOE
affrightOE
breec1000
offrightlOE
agastc1225
offearc1225
dreadc1250
agrisec1275
begallowc1320
ashunchc1325
adreadc1330
affrayc1330
fleya1400
grise1513
terrify1536
fray-bug1551
thunderbolta1586
fear-blast1593
gaster1593
hazen1593
terrorc1595
affrighten1615
ter-terrifya1618
flaite1642
pavefy1656
repall1687
hobgoblin1707
scarify1794
to scare the daylights out of1951
1707 W. Darrell Gentleman Instructed: 2nd Pt. xii. 231 We have been Hob-goblin'd too long into Religion.
1799 S. T. Coleridge Lett. (1895) 291 They believe that he hovers between heaven and earth, and at times hobgoblins his relations till they preform it for him.
hobˈgoblinet n. a little hobgoblin.Apparently an isolated use.
ΚΠ
1615 E. Hoby Curry-combe iv. 153 Agonies, the feare whereof the Popes pecuniarie Hobgoblinets..did afterwards rayse.
hobˈgoblinism n. belief in hobgoblins.Apparently an isolated use.
ΚΠ
1836 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 40 159 The lower classes of Welsh were notorious for their faith in these local hobgoblinisms.
hobˈgoblinry n. hobgoblin business.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > fairy or elf > [noun] > imp, goblin, or hobgoblin > practices of
goblinry1830
hobgoblinry1843
bogyism1876
1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain III. x. 175 What do you mean by this foolish hobgoblinry?
1853 F. W. Newman tr. Horace Odes 56 Some regard this as a piece of hobgoblinry.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1530