bog(e)y

views updated

bog(e)y person or thing much dreaded. XIX. orig. as proper name (Bogey and Old Bogey the Devil), presumably rel. to synon. †bog, north. Dial. boggard, -art, Sc. bogle, north. Eng. boggle (all from XVI), and further to BUG1, but the connections of the group are uncertain.

More From encyclopedia.com