pook

Pook is a term with multiple meanings in folklore, linguistics, and onomastics. In Celtic folklore, pook (also spelled pooka or púca) designates a shapeshifting spirit or fairy. The creature is described as able to assume many forms, most famously a black horse with a white mane, but also appearing as a goat, a hare, a dog, or a human. Pook figures are ambivalent in morality, sometimes aiding humans and other times causing mischief or leading travelers astray. The pook is related to other European fairy or trickster spirits, and in some traditions is linked to the mischievous puck of English folklore.

In addition to folklore, Pook is used as a surname or given name in various cultures, with origins that may trace to Gaelic or Germanic roots. As a personal name, it remains uncommon and geographically scattered.

In contemporary usage, pook or its variants appear in literature, games, and media as a name or fictional creature, often to evoke folklore associations. The term can function as a nickname or character epithet, sometimes reflecting a mischievous or enigmatic identity.

Related terms include Púca, Puck, and Pooka.