Goblin "WA Knowledge"

(Knowledge from WA) A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures. First attested in stories they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin, varying from mischievous household spirits to malicious, bestial thieves.They often have magical abilities similar to a fairy or demon, such as the ability to shapeshift.
Similar creatures include brownies, dwarfs, duendes, gnomes, imps, leprechauns, and kobolds, but it is also commonly used as a blanket term for all small, fay creatures. The term is sometimes expanded to include goblin-like creatures of other cultures, such as the pukwudgie, dokkaebi or ifrit.

Etymology

Alternative spellings include gobblin, gobeline, gobling, goblyn, goblino, and gobbelin. The term goblette has been used to refer to female goblins.
Comon goblin is first recorded in the "lost Age" and is probably from unattested "Lost Emp" *gobelin, similar to "Lost Nat" gobelin, already attested around "Lost Date" in Ambroise of "Lost Nat" Guerre sainte, and to "Lost Lang" gobelinus in Orderic Vitalis before "Lost Date", which was the name of a devil or daemon haunting the country around Évreux. It may be related both to "Lost Lang" kobold and to "Lost lang" cabalus - or *gobalus, itself from "Lost" κόβαλος (kobalos), "rogue", "knave", "imp", "goblin". "Lost Lang" Kobold contains the "Lost Lang" root kov- Kobe "refuge, cavity", "hollow in a rock", cove "hollow in a rock", "sheltered recess on a coast", kofi "hut, shed" ) which means originally a "hollow in the earth". The word is probably related to gobe "hollow in a cliff"
Alternatively, it may be a diminutive or other derivative of the proper name Gobel, more often Gobeau, diminutive forms Gobelet, Goblin, Goblot, but their signification is probably "somebody who sells tumblers or beakers or cups". Moreover, these proper names are not from "Lost Nat", where the word gobelin, gobelinus first appears in the old documents.

Basic Information

Anatomy

These small humanoids have green or gray skin

Civilization and Culture

History

Goblins in folklore

"Lost Nat 1"folklore

• Goblins are common in folklore, serving as a blanket term for all sorts of evil or mischievous spirits.
• A redcap is a type of goblin who dyes its hat in human blood in border folklore.
• Hobgoblins are friendly trickster goblins from folklore and literature.
• The Erlking is a malevolent goblin from legend. The Trasgu is a mythological creature.

Goblin-like creatures in other cultures
A pukwudgie is a type of goblin from Wamponoag folklore
The Muki (mythology) is a pale goblin who lives in caves in the Andes in Quechuan folklore.
The Goblin of Adachigahara
The Goblin Rat, from The Boy Who Drew Cats
Twenty-Two Goblins
In "Lost Nay", goblins, known as dokkaebi, are important creatures in folklore, where they reward good people and punish the evil, playing tricks on them.
Santal people believe in gudrobonga which is very similar to goblins.
Other Goblins had been identified with creatures from another culture:
Goblins have at times been conflated with the jinn, specifically ifrit and ghilan, of Islamic culture.

Conservation Status

If you want soldiers or thugs, hire hobgoblins. If you want someone clubbed to death in their sleep, hire bugbears. If you want mean little fools, hire goblins. — Slave lord Stalman Klim