On this Wikipedia the language links are at brownie mix top of the page across from the article title. For the seaweed called gruagach, see Desmarestia.

Illustration of a brownie by Alice B Woodward. Illustration of a brownie sweeping with a handmade broom by Alice B. Hobgoblin from Scottish folklore that is said to come out at night while the owners of the house are asleep and perform various chores and farming tasks. Brownies originated as domestic tutelary spirits, very similar to the Lares of ancient Roman tradition. Descriptions of brownies vary regionally, but they are usually described as ugly, brown-skinned, and covered in hair.

In the oldest stories, they are usually human-sized or larger. In more recent times, they have come to be seen as small and wizened. Although the name brownie originated as a dialectal word used only in the UK, it has since become the standard term for all such creatures throughout the UK and Ireland. Regional variants in England and Scotland include hobs, silkies, and ùruisgs. Roman Lararium, or household shrine to the Lares, from the House of the Vettii in Pompeii.

Brownies bear many similarities to the Roman Lares. Brownies originated as domestic tutelary spirits, very similar to the Lares of ancient Roman tradition, who were envisioned as the protective spirits of deceased ancestors. The family cult of deceased ancestors in ancient times centred around the hearth, which later became the place where offerings would be left for the brownie. Traditions about brownies are generally similar across different parts of Great Britain. They are said to inhabit homes and farms. Brownies are almost always described as solitary creatures who work alone and avoid being seen. In the late nineteenth century, the Irish folklorist Thomas Keightley described the brownie as “a personage of small stature, wrinkled visage, covered with short curly brown hair, and wearing a brown mantle and hood”.

Brownies are usually described as either naked or clothed in rags. Like the Phooka in Irish folklore, brownies are sometimes described as taking the forms of animals. If the brownie feels he has been slighted or taken advantage of, he will vanish forever, taking the prosperity of the house with him. And they’ll hae some wark ere it’s mow’d again! A brownie can also be driven away if someone attempts to baptize him. In some stories, even the manner in which their bowls of cream are given is enough to drive the brownie away. Sometimes giving the brownie a name was enough to drive him away.