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bug·bear

(bŭgbâr′)

1. A cause of fear, anxiety, or irritation: Overcrowding is often a bugbear for train commuters.

2. A difficult or persistent problem: "One of the major bugbears of traditional AI is the difficulty of programming computers to recognize that different but similar objects are instances of the same type of thing" (Jack Copeland).

3. A fearsome imaginary creature, especially one evoked to frighten children.

[Obsolete bug, hobgoblin (from Middle English bugge, perhaps from Welsh bwg) + BEAR².]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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