(in stories) a small ugly creature that likes to trick people or cause trouble (传说中的)小妖精,丑妖怪 Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French gobelin, possibly related to German Kobold or to Greek kobalos ‘mischievous goblin’. In medieval Latin Gobelinus occurs as the name of a mischievous spirit, said to haunt Évreux in northern France in the 12th cent.