gobelin

From the name of Parisian manufacturer Jean Gobelin.

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• Hyphenation: go‧be‧lin

gobelin m or n (plural gobelins, diminutive gobelintje n)

1. Gobelin, a rich, textured type of hand-stitched tapestry, fit to decorate a wall
2. a similar industrial fabric, used to cover furniture etc.

• M. J. Koenen & J. Endepols, Verklarend Handwoordenboek der Nederlandse Taal (tevens Vreemde-woordentolk), Groningen, Wolters-Noordhoff, 1969 (26th edition) [Dutch dictionary in Dutch]
• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967

From Old Northern French gobelin (compare Normand goubelin, Walloon gobelin), possibly a blend of Old Dutch *kobeholdo (“goblin”) (compare Dutch kabouter, German Kobold) and Late Latin cobalus (“mountain sprite”), from Ancient Greek κόβαλος (kóbalos, “rogue, knave; goblin”).

gobelin m (plural gobelins)

1. a gnome, such as the evil goblin

• farfadet m
• lutin m

• Nouveau Petit Larousse illustré. Dictionnaire encyclopédique. Paris, Librairie Larousse, 1952, 146th edition
• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967

• “gobelin” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

• ignoble