goblin

Etymology

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.

noun

1. One of various hostile supernatural creatures, now especially (fantasy literature) a malevolent and grotesque diminutive humanoid, often associated with orcs or trolls.
   From yͤ hagg & hungry Goblin, yͭ into raggs would rend yee, & yͤ spirit yͭ stand’s by yͤ naked man, c. 1620, anonymous, “Tom o’ Bedlam’s Song” in Giles Earle his Booke (British Museum, Additional MSS. 24, 665)
   "[…]If he had struck a stroke more to the side just here," said the goblin, tapping the very stone, as it seemed to Curdie, against which his head lay, "he would have been through; but he's a couple of yards past it now, and if he follow the lode it will be a week before it leads him in.[…]" 1872, George MacDonald, The Princess and the Goblin, page 50
   At last the goblins had a chance to rid themselves of one of the troublesome defenders, and two goblin warriors snatched the opportunity. 2006, Charlotte Bishop, Norty: The Chosen Ones, page 187
   The goblin shifted the two younger ones closer to him. It looked like he was hiding behind them, using them as a shield. The goblin looked pure evil. His eyes were brown. 2010, Thom L. Nichols, War: Return of the Elves, Part 1, page 37
   I shall send another entourage of goblins back here to Desput with the goblins’ new ally the Pixy! These creatures deserve the same respect as any other goblin. 2010, D. S. Macleod, The Middle Times: Rise of the Goblin King, page 229
   Risk is everywhere. From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins. For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you. 2013-06-22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 76