ghost
English meaning: Ghost
Definition
The spirit; the soul of man.
Example
“The children swore they had seen a ghost drifting through the old hall.”
Another example: “After three great dates, he simply ghosted her and never replied again.”
Usage — When, Where & How
A common noun for the spirit of a dead person believed to appear to the living. The 'soul/spirit' sense survives in 'Holy Ghost' and 'give up the ghost' (to die). As a verb, 'to ghost someone' (informal, modern) means to cut off all contact suddenly. 'Ghostwriter' is a derivative.
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From Old English 'gast' (spirit, soul, breath), from Proto-Germanic 'gaistaz'; the 'h' was added in the 15th century under Flemish influence.
Related Words
- whisperer
- recon
- haunt
- scrooge
- rider
- ghosts
- paranormal
- haunting
- haunted
- crabs
Common Collocations
- see a ghost
- ghost story
- give up the ghost
- ghost town
- friendly ghost
- pale as a ghost
Word Forms
ghost (n); ghosts (pl); ghost (v); ghosted; ghosting; ghostly (adj)
Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
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Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B