hobgoblin

noun

hob·​gob·​lin ˈhäb-ˌgäb-lən How to pronounce hobgoblin (audio)
1
: a mischievous goblin
2

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What's the difference between a goblin and a hobgoblin?

While a goblin is often portrayed in folklore as a grotesque, evil, and malicious creature, a hobgoblin tends to traffic more in mischief than malice. (The character Puck in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream might be regarded as a hobgoblin.) First appearing in English in the early 16th century, hobgoblin combined hob, a word meaning "sprite" or "elf" that derived from Hobbe, a nickname for Robert, with goblin a word ultimately from the Greek word kobalos, meaning "rogue." American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson famously applied the word's extended sense in his essay Self-Reliance: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."

Examples of hobgoblin in a Sentence

intimidated by the hobgoblins of etiquette in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, Puck is a hobgoblin who plays pranks such as spoiling milk and tripping old ladies
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Sailing teaches us that being an honorable competitor is more important than being a top competitor because while every race is there to lose, luck is the omnipresent hobgoblin. Conor Mastromarco, Baltimore Sun, 18 Nov. 2024 Gleeson’s Puck is a malevolent hobgoblin who serves as the royal jester to King Auberon of Faerie. Denise Petski, Deadline, 2 July 2024 Sightings of the mythical Nain Rouge, a red hobgoblin or dwarf that appears on the eve of tragedy, date to Detroit's origin — and locals have reclaimed the spirit with an annual march to scare the demon away, according to tradition. Detroit Free Press, 24 Mar. 2024 As Ralph Waldo Emerson might have said in an essay of the same name (and did), a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds; Tommy seems to feel his brain shrinking along with his life. John Anderson, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hobgoblin 

Word History

Etymology

hob entry 1

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hobgoblin was in 1530

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Cite this Entry

“Hobgoblin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hobgoblin. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

hobgoblin

noun
hob·​gob·​lin ˈhäb-ˌgäb-lən How to pronounce hobgoblin (audio)
1
: a mischievous elf or goblin
2

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