From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhobgoblinhob‧gob‧lin /hɒbˈɡɒblən, ˈhɒbɡɒb- $ ˈhɑːbɡɑːb-/ noun [countable] RFa goblin
Examples from the Corpus
hobgoblin• And what of hobgoblins, gnomes and the little people of Ireland?• How do we know that dwarves or goblins or hobgoblins, that kind of thing, didn't really live here?• As a child, I was treated as the school hobgoblin.• Ill-treated hobgoblins can cause strife and discord, though, souring milk, tangling clothes and muddying floors for spite.Origin hobgoblin (1500-1600) hob “bad spirit” ((15-19 centuries)) (from Hob, a man's name, from Robert) + goblin