"gremlin" meaning in All languages combined

See gremlin on Wiktionary

Noun [English]

IPA: /ˈɡɹɛmlɪn/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈɡɹɛmlən/ [General-American] Audio: En-us-gremlin.ogg [General-American] Forms: gremlins [plural]
Etymology: Uncertain; the following etymologies have been suggested: * A variant of goblin. * From Irish gruaimín (“gloomy little person”); or from Dutch gremmelen (“to soil, stain; to spoil”), or griemelen, grimmelen (“(obsolete) to abound, teem; to swarm”), but according to the Oxford English Dictionary there is little evidence for such derivations. The word was popularized, especially in the United States, by the children’s novel The Gremlins (1943) by the British author Roald Dahl (1916–1990), in which gremlins sabotage Royal Air Force aircraft in revenge for the destruction of their forest home to make way for an aircraft factory; the creatures later join forces with the British to fight the Nazis. Etymology templates: {{circa2|1942–1943|short=1}} c. 1942–1943, {{uncertain|en}} Uncertain, {{m|en|goblin}} goblin, {{der|en|ga|gruaimín|t=gloomy little person}} Irish gruaimín (“gloomy little person”), {{der|en|nl|gremmelen|t=to soil, stain; to spoil}} Dutch gremmelen (“to soil, stain; to spoil”), {{m|nl|griemelen}} griemelen, {{m|nl|grimmelen|t=(obsolete) to abound, teem; to swarm}} grimmelen (“(obsolete) to abound, teem; to swarm”) Head templates: {{en-noun}} gremlin (plural gremlins)
  1. (originally British, aviation, Royal Air Force slang)
    (obsolete) A contemptible person.
    Tags: obsolete Categories (topical): Aviation, Mythological creatures Synonyms: nonentity
    Sense id: en-gremlin-en-noun-ojqcM~SG Disambiguation of Mythological creatures: 39 32 14 15 Categories (other): British English, English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup, English entries with topic categories using raw markup Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 33 38 14 15 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 33 41 13 13 Disambiguation of English entries with topic categories using raw markup: 38 27 15 21 Topics: aeronautics, aerospace, aviation, business, engineering, natural-sciences, physical-sciences
  2. (originally British, aviation, Royal Air Force slang)
    An imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined, for example, to damage or dismantle machinery.
    Categories (topical): Aviation Translations (imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery): гремлин (gremlin) (Bulgarian), гном (gnom) [masculine] (Bulgarian), 葛雷姆林 (géléimǔlín) (Chinese Mandarin), riiviö (Finnish), pikkupiru (Finnish), καλικάντζαρος (kalikántzaros) [masculine] (Greek), グレムリン (Japanese), 그렘린 (geuremnin) (Korean), gremlinas (Lithuanian), ग्रेमलिन (gremlin) [masculine] (Marathi), гремлин (gremlin) [masculine] (Russian), гре́млін (hrémlin) (Ukrainian)
    Sense id: en-gremlin-en-noun-YxhIbYAI Categories (other): British English, English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 33 38 14 15 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 33 41 13 13 Topics: aeronautics, aerospace, aviation, business, engineering, natural-sciences, physical-sciences Disambiguation of 'imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery': 8 82 6 4
  3. (by extension)
    Any mysterious, unknown source of mischief or trouble, or the problem created thereby.
    Tags: broadly Synonyms: bug, glitch, hitch Translations (any mysterious, unknown source of mischief or trouble, or the problem created thereby): häikkä (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-gremlin-en-noun-O~s7dqd6 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 33 38 14 15 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 33 41 13 13 Disambiguation of 'any mysterious, unknown source of mischief or trouble, or the problem created thereby': 6 5 86 3
  4. (by extension)
    (surfing, skateboarding, slang) A young, inexperienced surfer or skateboarder, regarded as a nuisance.
    Tags: broadly, slang Categories (topical): Skateboarding, Surfing Synonyms: grem, gremmie, gremmy, grommet Translations (young, inexperienced surfer, seen as being a nuisance): keltanokka (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-gremlin-en-noun-yFni0i4E Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 33 38 14 15 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 33 41 13 13 Topics: hobbies, lifestyle, skateboarding, sports, surfing Disambiguation of 'young, inexperienced surfer, seen as being a nuisance': 17 10 10 62
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: gremmie, gremmy, gremlinesque, gremlinology, gremlinologist, misprint gremlin, typo gremlin

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for gremlin meaning in All languages combined (11.5kB)

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "gremmie"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "gremmy"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "gremlinesque"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "gremlinology"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "gremlinologist"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "misprint gremlin"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "typo gremlin"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "1942–1943",
        "short": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "c. 1942–1943",
      "name": "circa2"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "Uncertain",
      "name": "uncertain"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "goblin"
      },
      "expansion": "goblin",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ga",
        "3": "gruaimín",
        "t": "gloomy little person"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish gruaimín (“gloomy little person”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nl",
        "3": "gremmelen",
        "t": "to soil, stain; to spoil"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch gremmelen (“to soil, stain; to spoil”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "griemelen"
      },
      "expansion": "griemelen",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "grimmelen",
        "t": "(obsolete) to abound, teem; to swarm"
      },
      "expansion": "grimmelen (“(obsolete) to abound, teem; to swarm”)",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Uncertain; the following etymologies have been suggested:\n* A variant of goblin.\n* From Irish gruaimín (“gloomy little person”); or from Dutch gremmelen (“to soil, stain; to spoil”), or griemelen, grimmelen (“(obsolete) to abound, teem; to swarm”), but according to the Oxford English Dictionary there is little evidence for such derivations.\nThe word was popularized, especially in the United States, by the children’s novel The Gremlins (1943) by the British author Roald Dahl (1916–1990), in which gremlins sabotage Royal Air Force aircraft in revenge for the destruction of their forest home to make way for an aircraft factory; the creatures later join forces with the British to fight the Nazis.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "gremlins",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "gremlin (plural gremlins)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "grem‧lin"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Aviation",
          "orig": "en:Aviation",
          "parents": [
            "Aeronautics",
            "Transport",
            "Sciences",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "33 38 14 15",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "33 41 13 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "38 27 15 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "39 32 14 15",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Mythological creatures",
          "orig": "en:Mythological creatures",
          "parents": [
            "Fantasy",
            "Mythology",
            "Fiction",
            "Speculative fiction",
            "Culture",
            "Artistic works",
            "Genres",
            "Society",
            "Art",
            "Entertainment",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A contemptible person."
      ],
      "id": "en-gremlin-en-noun-ojqcM~SG",
      "links": [
        [
          "aviation",
          "aviation"
        ],
        [
          "Royal Air Force",
          "Royal Air Force"
        ],
        [
          "contemptible",
          "contemptible"
        ],
        [
          "person",
          "person#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "Royal Air Force slang",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(originally British, aviation, Royal Air Force slang)",
        "(obsolete) A contemptible person."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "nonentity"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "aeronautics",
        "aerospace",
        "aviation",
        "business",
        "engineering",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Aviation",
          "orig": "en:Aviation",
          "parents": [
            "Aeronautics",
            "Transport",
            "Sciences",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "33 38 14 15",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "33 41 13 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2023 November 29, Richard Foster, “Tyne & Wear Metro goes with the flow”, in RAIL, number 997, page 34",
          "text": "Crucial time was saved by the fact Nexus didn't require a Transport & Works Act. Nevertheless, other gremlins kept raising their heads.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined, for example, to damage or dismantle machinery."
      ],
      "id": "en-gremlin-en-noun-YxhIbYAI",
      "links": [
        [
          "aviation",
          "aviation"
        ],
        [
          "Royal Air Force",
          "Royal Air Force"
        ],
        [
          "imaginary",
          "imaginary"
        ],
        [
          "creature",
          "creature"
        ],
        [
          "reputed",
          "repute#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "mischievously",
          "mischievously"
        ],
        [
          "inclined",
          "inclined#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "damage",
          "damage#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "dismantle",
          "dismantle"
        ],
        [
          "machinery",
          "machinery"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "Royal Air Force slang",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(originally British, aviation, Royal Air Force slang)",
        "An imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined, for example, to damage or dismantle machinery."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "aeronautics",
        "aerospace",
        "aviation",
        "business",
        "engineering",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "8 82 6 4",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "gremlin",
          "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
          "word": "гремлин"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "8 82 6 4",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "gnom",
          "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "гном"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "8 82 6 4",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "géléimǔlín",
          "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
          "word": "葛雷姆林"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "8 82 6 4",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
          "word": "riiviö"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "8 82 6 4",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
          "word": "pikkupiru"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "8 82 6 4",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "kalikántzaros",
          "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "καλικάντζαρος"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "8 82 6 4",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
          "word": "グレムリン"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "8 82 6 4",
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "geuremnin",
          "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
          "word": "그렘린"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "8 82 6 4",
          "code": "lt",
          "lang": "Lithuanian",
          "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
          "word": "gremlinas"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "8 82 6 4",
          "code": "mr",
          "lang": "Marathi",
          "roman": "gremlin",
          "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "ग्रेमलिन"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "8 82 6 4",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "gremlin",
          "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "гремлин"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "8 82 6 4",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "hrémlin",
          "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
          "word": "гре́млін"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "33 38 14 15",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "33 41 13 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "We rechecked everything, and we suspect gremlins in the database.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Any mysterious, unknown source of mischief or trouble, or the problem created thereby."
      ],
      "id": "en-gremlin-en-noun-O~s7dqd6",
      "links": [
        [
          "mysterious",
          "mysterious"
        ],
        [
          "unknown",
          "unknown#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "source",
          "source#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "mischief",
          "mischief"
        ],
        [
          "trouble",
          "trouble#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "problem",
          "problem#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "create",
          "create"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension)",
        "Any mysterious, unknown source of mischief or trouble, or the problem created thereby."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bug"
        },
        {
          "word": "glitch"
        },
        {
          "word": "hitch"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "6 5 86 3",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "any mysterious, unknown source of mischief or trouble, or the problem created thereby",
          "word": "häikkä"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Skateboarding",
          "orig": "en:Skateboarding",
          "parents": [
            "Board sports",
            "Sports",
            "Human activity",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Surfing",
          "orig": "en:Surfing",
          "parents": [
            "Water sports",
            "Sports",
            "Human activity",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "33 38 14 15",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "33 41 13 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A young, inexperienced surfer or skateboarder, regarded as a nuisance."
      ],
      "id": "en-gremlin-en-noun-yFni0i4E",
      "links": [
        [
          "surfing",
          "surfing#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "skateboarding",
          "skateboarding#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "young",
          "young#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "inexperienced",
          "inexperienced"
        ],
        [
          "surfer",
          "surfer"
        ],
        [
          "skateboarder",
          "skateboarder"
        ],
        [
          "nuisance",
          "nuisance"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension)",
        "(surfing, skateboarding, slang) A young, inexperienced surfer or skateboarder, regarded as a nuisance."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "grem"
        },
        {
          "word": "gremmie"
        },
        {
          "word": "gremmy"
        },
        {
          "word": "grommet"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "slang"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "skateboarding",
        "sports",
        "surfing"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "17 10 10 62",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "young, inexperienced surfer, seen as being a nuisance",
          "word": "keltanokka"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɡɹɛmlɪn/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɡɹɛmlən/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-gremlin.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/ce/En-us-gremlin.ogg/En-us-gremlin.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/En-us-gremlin.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (GA)"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Oxford English Dictionary",
    "Roald Dahl",
    "The Gremlins"
  ],
  "word": "gremlin"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English 2-syllable words",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English military slang",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English terms with unknown etymologies",
    "en:Mythological creatures"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "gremmie"
    },
    {
      "word": "gremmy"
    },
    {
      "word": "gremlinesque"
    },
    {
      "word": "gremlinology"
    },
    {
      "word": "gremlinologist"
    },
    {
      "word": "misprint gremlin"
    },
    {
      "word": "typo gremlin"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "1942–1943",
        "short": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "c. 1942–1943",
      "name": "circa2"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "Uncertain",
      "name": "uncertain"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "goblin"
      },
      "expansion": "goblin",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ga",
        "3": "gruaimín",
        "t": "gloomy little person"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish gruaimín (“gloomy little person”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nl",
        "3": "gremmelen",
        "t": "to soil, stain; to spoil"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch gremmelen (“to soil, stain; to spoil”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "griemelen"
      },
      "expansion": "griemelen",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "grimmelen",
        "t": "(obsolete) to abound, teem; to swarm"
      },
      "expansion": "grimmelen (“(obsolete) to abound, teem; to swarm”)",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Uncertain; the following etymologies have been suggested:\n* A variant of goblin.\n* From Irish gruaimín (“gloomy little person”); or from Dutch gremmelen (“to soil, stain; to spoil”), or griemelen, grimmelen (“(obsolete) to abound, teem; to swarm”), but according to the Oxford English Dictionary there is little evidence for such derivations.\nThe word was popularized, especially in the United States, by the children’s novel The Gremlins (1943) by the British author Roald Dahl (1916–1990), in which gremlins sabotage Royal Air Force aircraft in revenge for the destruction of their forest home to make way for an aircraft factory; the creatures later join forces with the British to fight the Nazis.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "gremlins",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "gremlin (plural gremlins)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "grem‧lin"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with obsolete senses",
        "en:Aviation"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A contemptible person."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "aviation",
          "aviation"
        ],
        [
          "Royal Air Force",
          "Royal Air Force"
        ],
        [
          "contemptible",
          "contemptible"
        ],
        [
          "person",
          "person#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "Royal Air Force slang",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(originally British, aviation, Royal Air Force slang)",
        "(obsolete) A contemptible person."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "nonentity"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "aeronautics",
        "aerospace",
        "aviation",
        "business",
        "engineering",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "en:Aviation"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2023 November 29, Richard Foster, “Tyne & Wear Metro goes with the flow”, in RAIL, number 997, page 34",
          "text": "Crucial time was saved by the fact Nexus didn't require a Transport & Works Act. Nevertheless, other gremlins kept raising their heads.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined, for example, to damage or dismantle machinery."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "aviation",
          "aviation"
        ],
        [
          "Royal Air Force",
          "Royal Air Force"
        ],
        [
          "imaginary",
          "imaginary"
        ],
        [
          "creature",
          "creature"
        ],
        [
          "reputed",
          "repute#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "mischievously",
          "mischievously"
        ],
        [
          "inclined",
          "inclined#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "damage",
          "damage#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "dismantle",
          "dismantle"
        ],
        [
          "machinery",
          "machinery"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "Royal Air Force slang",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(originally British, aviation, Royal Air Force slang)",
        "An imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined, for example, to damage or dismantle machinery."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "aeronautics",
        "aerospace",
        "aviation",
        "business",
        "engineering",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "We rechecked everything, and we suspect gremlins in the database.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Any mysterious, unknown source of mischief or trouble, or the problem created thereby."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "mysterious",
          "mysterious"
        ],
        [
          "unknown",
          "unknown#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "source",
          "source#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "mischief",
          "mischief"
        ],
        [
          "trouble",
          "trouble#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "problem",
          "problem#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "create",
          "create"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension)",
        "Any mysterious, unknown source of mischief or trouble, or the problem created thereby."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bug"
        },
        {
          "word": "glitch"
        },
        {
          "word": "hitch"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English slang",
        "en:Skateboarding",
        "en:Surfing"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A young, inexperienced surfer or skateboarder, regarded as a nuisance."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "surfing",
          "surfing#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "skateboarding",
          "skateboarding#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "young",
          "young#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "inexperienced",
          "inexperienced"
        ],
        [
          "surfer",
          "surfer"
        ],
        [
          "skateboarder",
          "skateboarder"
        ],
        [
          "nuisance",
          "nuisance"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension)",
        "(surfing, skateboarding, slang) A young, inexperienced surfer or skateboarder, regarded as a nuisance."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "grem"
        },
        {
          "word": "gremmie"
        },
        {
          "word": "gremmy"
        },
        {
          "word": "grommet"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "slang"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "skateboarding",
        "sports",
        "surfing"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɡɹɛmlɪn/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɡɹɛmlən/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-gremlin.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/ce/En-us-gremlin.ogg/En-us-gremlin.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/En-us-gremlin.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (GA)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "gremlin",
      "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
      "word": "гремлин"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "gnom",
      "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "гном"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "géléimǔlín",
      "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
      "word": "葛雷姆林"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
      "word": "riiviö"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
      "word": "pikkupiru"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "kalikántzaros",
      "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "καλικάντζαρος"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
      "word": "グレムリン"
    },
    {
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "geuremnin",
      "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
      "word": "그렘린"
    },
    {
      "code": "lt",
      "lang": "Lithuanian",
      "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
      "word": "gremlinas"
    },
    {
      "code": "mr",
      "lang": "Marathi",
      "roman": "gremlin",
      "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "ग्रेमलिन"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "gremlin",
      "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "гремлин"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "hrémlin",
      "sense": "imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery",
      "word": "гре́млін"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "any mysterious, unknown source of mischief or trouble, or the problem created thereby",
      "word": "häikkä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "young, inexperienced surfer, seen as being a nuisance",
      "word": "keltanokka"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Oxford English Dictionary",
    "Roald Dahl",
    "The Gremlins"
  ],
  "word": "gremlin"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.