kobold

noun3

1. •
   An ambivalent, sometimes vindictive, spirit that is capable of materialising as an object or human, often a child; a sprite.

   • Movers, in the first chapter of his Phönizier, says that that group of deities called Dactyls, Cabiri, Corybantes, and Cyclopes, were similar to those old Germanic divinities now known as Kobolds. — 2009
2. •
   A mischievous elf or goblin, or one connected (and helpful) to a family or household.

   • When the Kobold is about coming into any place, he first, in this way, makes trial of the disposition of the family. — 1828
3. •
   One of a diminutive and usually malevolent race of beings, often with a reptilian or dog-like appearance.