Where does “hobgoblinism” come from?
hobgoblinism (English) comes from English hobgoblin, from English Hob, from Middle English Hob, from English robin, from Middle English Robin, from Old French Robert, from Frankish berht, from Proto-Germanic berhtaz — army.
Ancestry of “hobgoblinism”, step by step
hobgoblinism traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English hobgoblin
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | hobgoblin | A small, ugly goblin that makes trouble for... |
| 2 | English | Hob | A nickname for Robin Goodfellow, Puck; later the devil |
| 3 | Middle English | Hob | — |
| 4 | English | robin | Any of various passerine birds of the families... |
| 5 | Middle English | Robin | — |
| 6 | Old French | Robert | a Germanic (Old Frankish) borrowing |
| 7 | Frankish | berht | bright |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | berhtaz | bright, shining |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | hrabnaz | raven |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱorh₂- | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |
via English ism
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ism | An ideology, system of thought, or practice that... |
| 2 | English | -ism | Used to form nouns of action or process or result... |
| 3 | Latin | -ismus | -ism |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -ισμός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -μός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -mós | Creates action/result nouns from verb stems |