kabouter

Borrowed from Dutch kabouter (“gnome”).

kabouter (plural kabouters)

1. (Dutch folklore) A tiny folkloric man who traditionally wears a pointy red hat, lives in harmony with nature and resides in mushrooms, similar to a gnome, leprechaun or a smurf.

• break out, breakout, outbrake, outbreak

Possibly already from Middle Dutch. Equivalent to a compound of koof (from Middle Dutch kove, from Old Dutch *kovo, from Proto-Germanic *kubô (“hut, shed”)) and a less certain second element that might be hou (“friendly, favorable disposition”). Related to German Kobold. For sense 2, compare with English brownie/Brownie (“a junior Girl Scout, a junior Girl Guide”).

• IPA^(key): /ˌkaːˈbɑu̯.tər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ka‧bou‧ter
• Rhymes: -ɑu̯tər

kabouter m (plural kabouters, diminutive kaboutertje n)

1. (fiction, folklore) a (now usually benevolent) tiny folkloric bearded man who traditionally wears a pointy red hat, lives in harmony with nature and resides in mushrooms or trees, similar to a gnome, leprechaun or brownie
2. (scouting) a very young female member of the scout movement

• dwerg
• gnoom

• → Manado Malay: kaboter
• → Papiamentu: kabouter