- goblin
- early 14c., "a devil, incubus, fairy," from O.Fr. gobelin (12c., as M.L. Gobelinus,
the name of a spirit haunting the region of Evreux, in chronicle of
Ordericus Vitalis), of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Ger. kobold (see cobalt), or from M.L. cabalus, from Gk. kobalos "rogue, knave," kobaloi "wicked spirits invoked by rogues," of unknown origin. Another suggestion is that it is a diminutive of the proper name Gobel.
Though French gobelin was not recorded until almost 250 years after appearance of the English term, it is mentioned in the Medieval Latin text of the 1100's, and few people who believed in folk magic used Medieval Latin. [Barnhart]
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=goblin
