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barghest

noun
/ˈbɑːˌɡɛst/UK

Etymology

Probably inherited from Northern Middle English *berghgast, *barghgast, from bergh, bargh (“barrow”) + gast (“ghost”). Alternative hypotheses that first element is burgh (“town”) or bere (“bear”) lack semantic motivation.

  1. derived from *berghgast✻

Definitions

  1. A legendary monstrous black dog, said to possess large teeth and claws, and (sometimes)…

    A legendary monstrous black dog, said to possess large teeth and claws, and (sometimes) to be capable of changing form.

    • "Folklore often portrays barghests as guardians who lead lost travelers home," I said, not answering his question in the least, or mentioning that more often barghests were considered portents of death.

  2. Any ghost, wraith, hobgoblin, elf, or spirit.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for barghest. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA