Rumpelstiltskin

[ruhm-puh l-stilt-skin]

noun

a dwarf in a German folktale who spins flax into gold for a young woman to meet the demands of the prince she has married, on the condition that she give him her first child or else guess his name: she guesses his name and he vanishes or destroys himself in a rage.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rumpelstiltskin

Contemporary Examples of rumpelstiltskin

Turns out, Have Trunk Will Travel actually owns that little baby elephant, Rumpelstiltskin style.
Whose Elephant Is It?
Winston Ross
December 9, 2012

Historical Examples of rumpelstiltskin

Is it,” the Queen asked softly, “by any chance Rumpelstiltskin?
Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17)
Various
That Rumpelstiltskin is my name, She will never guess—the silly dame.
Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17)
Various
The same thing is told in the German story of Rumpelstiltskin.
Fairy Tales; Their Origin and Meaning
John Thackray Bunce

British Dictionary definitions for rumpelstiltskin

Rumpelstiltskin

noun

a dwarf in a German folktale who aids the king's bride on condition that she give him her first child or guess the dwarf's name. She guesses correctly and in his rage he destroys himself

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for rumpelstiltskin

Rumpelstiltskin

1840, from German Rumpelstilzchen. The German form of the name is used in English from 1828.

rumpelstiltskin in Culture

“Rumpelstiltskin”

A fairy tale from the collection of the brothers Grimm. The title character, a dwarf, tells a woman who has promised him her first-born child that he will not hold her to her promise if she can guess his name. She finds it out, and Rumpelstiltskin, furious, destroys himself.