Meaning

2 senses

  1. A mythical, nocturnal creature; a hobgoblin.

  2. Any imagined fear or threat, or a fear presumed larger than it really is.

Origin

An earlier form was seen in buggybow, probably an alteration of bugbear (see bug), but con

An earlier form was seen in buggybow, probably an alteration of bugbear (see bug), but connected by Chapman ("Dictionary of American Slang") with Bugibu, demon in the Old French poem Aliscans from 1141, which is perhaps of Celtic origin as a pagan god (compare Cornish buccaboo (“devil”), from bucca (“bogle, goblin”)). Alternatively, bug + a + boo. For a similar semantic development from a heathen god to demon to monster, compare etymology of French lutin.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: bug-a-boos

Synonyms

1 synonyms
hostile supernatural creature:goblin

Word family

4 related words
Relatedbogeyboo-boobugbearbogeyman

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
buffoonC1bugA2buggerbuggy
bug-a-boo — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto