• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Where do the words bug, bugbear, bugaboo, bogy come from and What do they mean?

Where do the words bug, bugbear, bugaboo, bogy come from and What do they mean?

August 1, 2020 by Karen Hill

The people of Cornwall and Wales, seven or eight hundred years ago used to frighten their children with tales of fearful hobgoblins or specters.

We don’t know what those ancient tales were nor how they described those imaginary creatures which became very real beings to the children. The Welsh term for specter is bug. The English in telling about the Welsh specter called it bug, for the original meaning of that word was “specter” or “ghost.”

The word hasn’t been used in that sense for several centuries, however, except in bugbear and bugaboo, but became another term for “beetle,” some varieties of which resemble a hideous specter.

In bugbear, the thought may have been a ghostly bear of very frightening appearance, but the concluding syllables of bugaboo were apparently meaningless, possibly resulting from nothing more than alliteration.

Bogy, or bogey, which now has the original meaning of bug, was probably a dialectal form of the older word.

Related Facts

  • Where does the saying "cute as a bug's ear" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where Did the Words Shindig, Shebang, and Shillelagh Come From and What Do the Irish Words Mean?
  • Where does the expression "weasel words" come from and What does "weasel words" mean?
  • How Is Shellac Made and Where Does the Lac Bug Come From?
  • Why is a Computer Problem Called a "Bug" and Where Did the Term Originate?
  • What Chemical Causes a Lightning Bug To Glow and What Is the Chemical Reaction Called?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Where does the word “broker” come from and What does broker mean?
Next Post: How did the word “budget” originate and What does budget mean? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy