Where does the name “boogeyman” come from?
The etymology of the word “boogeyman” is uncertain because we don’t know when and where it first appeared. Even in the English language, it is ambiguous to when the first source was found. Some people date it to the 16th century while others date it to around 1836. In both sources, it was a term for the Devil.
The word “boogey” or “bogey” is derived from many different languages from all over the world. It could come from the Middle English word “bogge/bugge’ that is also the origin of bug. There are however many other European languages that have words that could be linked with the creation of “boogeyman”. The different languages are German (bögge-mann), Norwegian (busemann), or Danish (bøhmand). All these different variations refer to frightening creatures. The word "boogey" originally stood for a ghost in most of those languages.
A monster that is often compared to the boogeyman is the bugbear. The actual word comes from the combination of the words “bug” and “bear” which could suggest that the monster would take the appearance of a bear as it terrorized children.
Where do the monster’s origins lie?
Similarly to the origins of the name, the boogeyman comes from all around the globe. Everywhere, the definition of the monster is also different. In some places, it is a monster that haunts children in their dreams while in others, it is a creature that comes and captures mischievous children.
The most common thread between all the different interpretations is that it was mostly created to scare and discipline children. Creating compliance in children is something parents long for, but it is sometimes difficult to do with compliments and candy. Scaring them by telling them that a monster would come and eat them if they disobeyed is much more effective in that case. Some psychologists even believe that the creation would stem from the prehistoric times when there was a need to discourage the young ones to leave the group.
The word “boogey” or “bogey” is derived from many different languages from all over the world. It could come from the Middle English word “bogge/bugge’ that is also the origin of bug. There are however many other European languages that have words that could be linked with the creation of “boogeyman”. The different languages are German (bögge-mann), Norwegian (busemann), or Danish (bøhmand). All these different variations refer to frightening creatures. The word "boogey" originally stood for a ghost in most of those languages.
A monster that is often compared to the boogeyman is the bugbear. The actual word comes from the combination of the words “bug” and “bear” which could suggest that the monster would take the appearance of a bear as it terrorized children.
Where do the monster’s origins lie?
Similarly to the origins of the name, the boogeyman comes from all around the globe. Everywhere, the definition of the monster is also different. In some places, it is a monster that haunts children in their dreams while in others, it is a creature that comes and captures mischievous children.
The most common thread between all the different interpretations is that it was mostly created to scare and discipline children. Creating compliance in children is something parents long for, but it is sometimes difficult to do with compliments and candy. Scaring them by telling them that a monster would come and eat them if they disobeyed is much more effective in that case. Some psychologists even believe that the creation would stem from the prehistoric times when there was a need to discourage the young ones to leave the group.
