pooka means A fairy that supposedly appears in animal form, often large. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
pooka is pronounced /ˈpuːkə/.
Why “pooka” is a great word
POOKA — [Noun] A mischievous or malignant goblin in Irish folklore, often an animal-shaped specter that haunts the wilds, and also a term for a convenient, improvised storage nook. From Old Irish púca (“goblin, sprite”), likely from Old English pūca (“demon”); first recorded in English 1820–30. Unlike Puck (a domesticated, theatrical English hobgoblin) or banshee (a female herald of death whose form and purpose are fixed), the pooka is a protean trickster of the lonely places, its intent as shifting as its form. It is the dark horse that materializes from the bog-mist to give a drunken, terrifying ride; the hare that leads a hound to exhaustion; the glint of predatory intelligence in a roadside thicket—a reminder that the landscape itself has a capricious and hidden intelligence.
Etymology
From Old Irish púca (“goblin, sprite”), perhaps from a (nearly) identical Old Irish form, ultimately from Old English pūca (“demon”). Doublet of bucca and puck.
noun
- A fairy that supposedly appears in animal form, often large.“The pooka had befriended the kindly old man.”
- A convenient storage location or hiding spot created by the arrangement or form of surrounding objects