boggard
English
Etymology 1
Uncertain, but likely from Lancashire, Yorkshire etc dialectal variants of bug (“goblin; terrifying thing; etc.”), equivalent to bog + -ard.[1]
Alternative forms
- boggart
- buggard, baggard (obsolete)
Noun
boggard (plural boggards)
- (UK dialectal) A bogey: a ghost, goblin, or other hostile supernatural creature, especially a small local spirit haunting gloomy places or the scenes of violence.
- 1768, John Ray, A Compleat Collection of English Proverbs, published 1818, page 123:
- (figuratively) A bugbear: any terrifying thing.
- 1575, W. Whittingham, Brieff Discours of the Troubles Begonne at Franckford in Germany A.D. 1554:
- Nor be such buggarddes to the poor, yff they may not beare the bagge alone.
- a. 1599, in 1616, Robert Rollock, Lectures upon the History of the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Ch. xiv, page 132:
- (obsolete) Any real or imagined thing which prompts a horse to boggle (take fright).
Synonyms
- (hostile supernatural creature): See goblin
Derived terms
- frayboggard (“scarecrow”)
Alternative forms
- bogard, boggards
Synonyms
References
- Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "boggard | boggart, n.²" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1887.
- Oxford English Dictionary. "† ˈboggard, n.²"
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