Citations:gremlin

English citations of gremlin

Etymology

From Middle English gremly (“terrible”) (compare Old English gremman, gremian (“to provoke; irritate; anger; vex”)) +‎ -lin, -ling.

possible cognates

• German grämen (“to make unhappy; to trouble, worry; to be unhappy; to feel sorrow”)
• Swedish gräma (“to grieve”)

Relocated here from the entry page as it does not appear in the OED, and the word gremlin has not been found before the 1920s.