View source for Bugbear

{{Short description|Creature from myth}}
{{about|the legendary creature}}
[[File:Bremerhaven Thiele 2.jpg|thumb|Bugbear sculpture in {{ill|Thieles Garten|de}}, [[Bremerhaven]] (2006)]]
A '''bugbear''' is a [[legendary creature]] or type of [[hobgoblin]] comparable to the [[boogeyman]] (or bugaboo or babau or cucuy), and other creatures of [[folklore]], all of which were historically used in some cultures to frighten disobedient [[child]]ren.<ref name=OED>{{Cite encyclopedia| title=Raven|encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary |editor=J. Simpson |editor2=E. Weiner | year=1989 |edition= 2nd| location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn= 0-19-861186-2}}</ref>
==Etymology==
Its name is derived from the [[Middle English]] word "bugge" (a frightening thing), or perhaps the [[Old Welsh]] word ''bwg'' (evil spirit or [[goblin]]),<ref name=BriggsFairies>{{cite book| last=Briggs| first=Katherine M. |title=A Dictionary of Fairies| publisher=Penguin| location=Harmondsworth, Middlesex| year=1976| page=52| isbn=0-14-004753-0}}</ref> or [[Old Scots]] ''bogill'' (goblin), and cognates most probably English "bogeyman" and "bugaboo".
In [[medieval England]], the bugbear was depicted as a creepy bear that lurked in the woods to scare children. It was described in this manner in ''The Buggbears'',<ref name=BriggsFairies/> an adaptation, with additions, from [[Antonio Francesco Grazzini]]’s ''La Spiritata'' (‘The Possessed [Woman]’, 1561).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/pdf/emh68b2456693.pdf|title=Early Plays from the Italian|last=Bond|first=R. Warwick|website=warburg.sas.ac.uk|access-date=2019-01-07}}</ref>
In a modern context, the term ''bugbear'' may also mean [[pet peeve]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bugbear|title=Definition of BUGBEAR|website=www.merriam-webster.com|date=13 July 2023 }}</ref>
==In popular culture==
Bugbears appear in a number of modern fantasy literature and related media, where they are usually minor antagonists.<ref name="SaklofskeArbuckle2019">{{cite book|author1=Jon Saklofske|author2=Alyssa Arbuckle|author3=Jon Bath|title=Feminist War Games?: Mechanisms of War, Feminist Values, and Interventional Games|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8j3DDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT73|date=10 December 2019|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-00-075120-8|page=73}}</ref> They also appear as monsters, described as large, hairy goblinoids, in the canon of popular fantasy role-playing games.<ref name="Bugbear - Pathfinder Wiki">{{cite web |title=Bugbear - Pathfinder Wiki |url=https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Bugbear |website=Pathfinder Wiki |access-date=24 May 2020}}</ref><ref name="Bugbear - D&D Beyond">{{cite web |title=Bugbear - D&D Beyond |url=https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/bugbear |website=D&D Beyond |access-date=24 May 2020}}</ref>
The show [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]] introduced bugbears to the series in the 100th episode [[Slice of Life (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)|Slice of Life]]. Bugbears in the show are depicted as being literal to the name, being a four-armed [[Giant panda|panda]] with the antennae, wings, and stinger of either a [[wasp]] or [[bumblebee]].
==See also==
* [[Moss people]]
* [[Sprite (creature)]]
* [[Wirry-cow]]
* [[Yōkai]]
==References==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{reflist}}
{{Fairies}}
[[Category:English legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Hobgoblins]]
[[Category:Devils]]
[[Category:Supernatural legends]]
[[Category:Bogeymen]]
[[Category:Germanic legendary creatures]]