Kobold

See also: kobold

German

Etymology

From Middle High German kobe (“shed, sty”) (modern Koben) + *holt (“goblin”), from hold (“friendly, gracious”), a euphemistic way of referring to the mischievous beings, from Proto-Germanic *hulþaz (“inclined, favorable”). Related to Dutch kabouter. Compare with English the good folk.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkoːbɔlt/

• Audio:

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• Audio (Germany):

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Noun

Kobold m (strong, genitive Koboldes or Kobolds, plural Kobolde)

1. kobold, goblin

Declension

Declension of Kobold [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Kobold	die	Kobolde
genitive	eines	des	Koboldes, Kobolds	der	Kobolde
dative	einem	dem	Kobold, Kobolde1	den	Kobolden
accusative	einen	den	Kobold	die	Kobolde

¹Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

• Koboldhai

Related terms

• Klabautermann
• Kobalt

Further reading

• “Kobold” in Duden online
• “Kobold” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache