Bugbear

This article is about the legendary creature. For other uses, see Bugbear (disambiguation).

A bugbear is a legendary creature or type of hobgoblin comparable to the bogeyman (or bugaboo or babau), and other creatures of folklore, all of which were historically used in some cultures to frighten disobedient children.[1]

Etymology

Its name is derived from a Middle English word "bugge" (a frightening thing), or perhaps the old Welsh word bwg (evil spirit or goblin), [2] or old Scots "bogill" (goblin), and has cognates in German "bögge" or "böggel-mann" (goblin), and most probably also English "bogeyman" and American English "bugaboo".

In medieval England, the Bugbear was depicted as a creepy bear that lurked in the woods to scare children. It was described in this manner in an English translation of a 1565 Italian play The Buggbear.[2]

In a modern context, the term bugbear serves as a metaphor for something which is annoying or irritating,[1] as does hobgoblin, often with a connotation that the fear or loathing it inspires is disproportionate to its small importance. It may also mean pet peeve.[3]

See also

References

Look up bugbear in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 J. Simpson, E. Weiner (eds), ed. (1989). "Raven". Oxford English Dictionary (2nd edition ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-861186-2.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Briggs, Katherine M. (1976). A Dictionary of Fairies. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin. p. 52. ISBN 0-14-004753-0.
  3. ↑ merriam-webster.com