Meaning
A ghost, goblin, or other hostile supernatural creature.
Etymology
Origin: Old English
Probably related to or alteration of bogle, akin to or from a variant of Middle English bugge (“frightening specter, scarecrow”) (whence bug), itself of uncertain origin: perhaps from obsolete Welsh bwg (“ghost, hobgoblin”); compare Welsh bwgwl (“threat”, older “fear”), Irish bagairt (“threat”), but perhaps the root was borrowed from Germanic. Otherwise from Proto-Germanic *bugja- (“swollen up, thick”); compare Norwegian bugge (“big man”), dialectal Low German Bögge and Alemannic German Böögg (“goblin”, “snot”). See also Proto-Germanic *pūkô (“a goblin, spook”), Old English pūca (“goblin, mischievous spirit”), Icelandic púki Swedish puke (“small devil, spook”), whence obsolete English puck. Perhaps the Middle English and Welsh words come from a word related to buck and originally referred to a goat-shaped specter. Compare also booger. The golf sense is from the devil as an imaginary player. The sometimes proscribed conflation with bandit was popularized by the 1986 film Top Gun.
Synonyms & Antonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
Accepted in 4 recorded puzzles: