A goblin is a small,
grotesque,
monstrous creature that appears in the
folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the
Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on the story and country of origin, ranging from
mischievoushousehold spirits to malicious, bestial thieves.[1][2] They often have magical abilities similar to a
fairy or
demon, such as the ability to
shapeshift.[2]
Alternative spellings include gobblin, gobeline, gobling, goblyn, goblino, and gobbelin. The term "goblette" has been used to refer to female goblins.[3][4]
The word goblin is first recorded in the 14th century and is probably from unattested Anglo-Norman *gobelin,[5] similar to Old French gobelin, already attested around 1195 in
Ambroise of Normandy's Guerre sainte, and to
Medieval Latingobelinus in
Orderic Vitalis before 1141,[6][7] which was the name of a devil or daemon haunting the country around
Évreux, Normandy.
It may be related both to German kobold and to Medieval Latin cabalus - or *gobalus, itself from
Greek κόβαλος (kobalos), "rogue", "knave", "imp", "goblin".[6] German Kobold contains the Germanic root kov- (Middle German Kobe "refuge, cavity", "hollow in a rock", Dial. English cove "hollow in a rock", English "sheltered recess on a coast", Old Norse kofi "hut, shed" ) which means originally a "hollow in the earth".[8][9] The word is probably related to Dial. Norman gobe "hollow in a cliff", with simple suffix -lin or double
suffixation-el-in (cf. Norman surnames Beuzelin,[10]Gosselin,[11]Étancelin,[12] etc.)[13]
Alternatively, it may be a diminutive or other derivative of the French
proper nameGobel, more often Gobeau,[14][5] diminutive forms Gobelet, Goblin, Goblot, but their signification is probably "somebody who sells tumblers or beakers or cups".[15] Moreover, these proper names are not from Normandy, where the word gobelin, gobelinus first appears in the old documents.
The
Welshcoblyn, a type of
knocker, derives from the Old French gobelin via the English goblin.[16]
In folklore
European folklore
Goblins are common in
English,
Scottish, and
Irish folklore, serving as a blanket term for all sorts of evil or mischievous spirits.
The
muki is a pale goblin who lives in caves in the Andes in Quechuan folklore.
In South Korea, goblins, known as
dokkaebi (도깨비), are important creatures in folklore, where they reward good people and punish the evil, playing tricks on them.[2]
In Bangladesh, Santal people believe in
gudrobonga which is very similar to goblins.
In South African mythology, the
tokoloshe (or tikoloshe or tikoloshi) is a dwarf-like creatures similar to a goblin.
Goblins have at times been conflated with the
jinn, specifically
ifrit and
ghilan, of
Islamic culture.[17]
The Korean nursery song 'Mountain Goblin(산도깨비)' tells of meeting a
dokkaebi and running away to live.
Modern fiction
In
J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit the evil creatures living in the Misty Mountains are referred to as goblins. In The Lord of the Rings the same creatures are primarily referred to as orcs.
Goblinoids are a category of
humanoidlegendary creatures related to the goblin. The term was popularized in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game,[22] in which goblins and related creatures are a staple of
random encounters. Goblinoids are typically
barbaric foes of the various human and "
demi-human"
races. Even though goblinoids in modern fantasy fiction are derived from
J. R. R. Tolkien's
orcs, the main types of goblinoids in Dungeons & Dragons are
goblins,
bugbears and
hobgoblins; these creatures are also figures of mythology, next to ordinary goblins.
In
Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, goblins are initially a despised and shunned subterranean race; however, in later books, goblins are eventually integrated with the other races, and their mechanical and engineering talents come to be valued.
In the video game series Elder Scrolls, goblins are a hostile beast race said to originate from Summerset Isle, can range in size from being smaller than a Wood Elf to being larger than a Nord and love living in dank places such as caves and sewers.
In early English translations, The Smurfs were called goblins.[23]
Goblin-related place names
'The Gap of Goeblin', a hole and tunnel in
Mortain, France.[24]
Hobroyd (which means 'goblin clearing'), High Peak, Derbyshire, UK.[25]
Cowcaddens and
Cowlairs, Glasgow, Scotland. 'Cow' is an old Scots word for Goblin, while 'cad' means 'nasty'. 'Dens' and 'lairs' refers to goblin homes.[26]
541132 Leleākūhonua (then known as 2015 TG387) is an object in the outer solar system nicknamed "The Goblin"
Zanger, Jules (1997). "Goblins, Morlocks, and Weasels". Children's Literature in Education. 8. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 154–162.
doi:
10.1007/BF01146190.
S2CID161822697.