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HOME-SPRITE. 507
butzwinkelj lurking-place, butzlfinster, pitch-dark, when tlie ap
parition is most to be dreaded ; the putz would take us over
hill and dale/ Schm. 1, 229. 230; the butz who leads travellers
astray (Muchar s Gastein, p. 145). In Swabia butzenmaukler
(from maucheln, to be sly), butzenbrecht, butzenraule, butzenrolle,
rollputz, butzenbell (because his rattle rolls and his bell tinkles),
Schmid 111. About Hanau I have heard the interjection, katza-
butza-rola, ! the katze-butze bringing up the connexion between
cat and goblin (p. 503) in a new form. In Switzerland bootzi, bozi,
St. 1, 204. Here several meanings branch out of one another :
first we have a monstrous butz that drags children away, then a
tiny butzel, and thence both biitzel and butz-igel (-urchin) used
contemptuously
of little deformed creatures. In like manner but
in Low Germ, stands for a squat podgy child ; butten, verbutten
is to get stunted or deformed, while the bugbear is called butte,
butke, budde, buddeke :
f
dat di de butke nig bit/ (that thee the
bogie bite not !)
is said satirically to children who are afraid of
the dark, Brem. wb. 1, 173-5; and here certainly is the place
for the watersprite butt or buttje in the Kindermiirchen no. 19,
the name having merely been transferred to a blunt-headed fish,
the rhombus or passer marinus. 1 There is also probably a butte-
mann, buttmann, but more commonly in the contracted form
bu-man (Br. wb. 1, 153). Nethl. bytebauw, for buttebauw, which
I identify with Low Germ, bu-ba (Br. wb. 1, 152). The Dan.
bussemand, bussegroll, bussetrold (Molbech, p. 60) seems to be
formed on the German (see Suppl.). The origin of this butze,
butte is hard to ascertain : I would assume a lost Goth, biuta
(tundo, pulso), baut, butum, OHG. piuzu, poz, puzum, whence
OHG. anapoz, our amboss, anvil, MHG. bozen (pulsare), and
gebiuze, thumping, clatter [Engl. to butt?], conf. Lachmann
on Nib. 1823, 2. Fragm. 40, 186; butze would be a thumping
rapping sprite, perfectly agreeing with mumhart and pophart, 2
and we may yet hear of a bozhart or buzhart. But, like
1
Homesprite and water-sprite meet in this soothsaying wish-granting fish.
The story of the butt has a parallel in the OFr. tale of an elvish spirit and en
chanter Merlin, who keeps fulfilling the growing desires of the charcoal burner, till
they pass all bounds, then plunges him back into his original poverty (Meon, nouv.
rec. 2, 242-252. Jubinal 1, 128-135.
2 As the monstrous includes the repulsive and unclean, it is not surprising that
both butze an&popel signify mucus, filth (Oberlin 210. Schm. 1, 291). The same
with Swiss bodg, St. 1, 203.