A source of persistent worry or annoyance; something that bothers or frightens you, or a goblin-like creature from folklore.
From Middle English 'bugge' (phantom or goblin) plus 'bear,' originally describing a frightening creature that would eat naughty children, similar to the bogeyman.
The bugbear evolved from a real creature used to frighten children into obedience in medieval England, but by the 1600s it became metaphorical for any persistent worry—making it one of the few monsters that transformed into an abstract concept.
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