ghost

ghost
ghost O.E. gast "soul, spirit, life, breath; good or bad spirit, angel, demon," from P.Gmc. *ghoizdoz (Cf. O.S. gest, O.Fris. jest, M.Du. gheest, Du. geest, Ger. Geist "spirit, ghost"), from PIE root *gheis- "to be excited, amazed, frightened" (Cf. Skt. hedah "wrath;" Avestan zaesha- "horrible, frightful;" Goth. usgaisjan, O.E. gæstan "to frighten"). This was the usual West Germanic word for "supernatural being," and the primary sense seems to have been connected to the idea of "to wound, tear, pull to pieces." The surviving O.E. senses, however, are in Christian writing, where it is used to render L. spiritus, a sense preserved in Holy Ghost. Modern sense of "disembodied spirit of a dead person" is attested from late 14c. and returns the word toward its ancient sense.
Most Indo-European words for "soul, spirit" also double with reference to supernatural spirits. Many have a base sense of "appearance" (e.g. Gk. phantasma; Fr. spectre; Pol. widmo, from O.C.S. videti "to see;" O.E. scin, O.H.G. giskin, originally "appearance, apparition," related to O.E. scinan, O.H.G. skinan "to shine"). Other concepts are in Fr. revenant, lit. "returning" (from the other world), O.N. aptr-ganga, lit. "back-comer." Bret. bugelnoz is lit. "night-child." Latin MANES (Cf. manes) probably is a euphemism.
The gh- spelling appeared early 15c. in Caxton, influenced by Flemish and M.Du. gheest, but was rare in English before mid-16c. Sense of "slight suggestion" (in ghost image, ghost of a chance, etc.) is first recorded 1610s; that in ghost writing is from 1884, but that term is not found until 1919. Ghost town is from 1908. To give up the ghost "die" was in Old English. Ghost in the machine was Gilbert Ryle's term (1949) for "the mind viewed as separate from the body."

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Ghost — (g[=o]st), n. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. g[=a]st breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g[=e]st spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.] [1913 Webster] 1. The spirit; the soul of man. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Then gives… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ghost — (englisch: Geist) steht für ein Softwareprodukt zum Erstellen von Speicherabbildern von Datenträgern, siehe Ghost (Software) ein Softwareprodukt zur Datensicherung, G4L (Ghost für Linux) eine Luxuslimousine von Rolls Royce Motor Cars, Rolls Royce …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • ghost — ghost; ghost·dom; ghost·ess; ghost·i·ly; ghost·li·ness; ghost·ol·o·gy; ghost·ship; ghost·ing; ghost·ly; …   English syllables

  • Ghost (BD) — Ghost (bande dessinée) Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Ghost dans le monde de la bande dessinée peut faire référence à : Ghost, une super héroïne apparaissant dans sa propre série,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ghost — Título Ghost, la sombra del amor (México, Chile, Colombia, Perú y Argentina) Ghost, más allá del amor (España) Ficha técnica Dirección Jerry Zucker …   Wikipedia Español

  • ghost — ► NOUN 1) an apparition of a dead person which is believed to appear to the living. 2) a faint trace: the ghost of a smile. 3) a faint secondary image produced by a fault in an optical system or on a cathode ray screen. ► VERB ▪ act as ghost… …   English terms dictionary

  • ghost´i|ly — ghost|y «GOHS tee», adjective, ghost|i|er, ghost|i|est. of or like a ghost; ghostly. –ghost´i|ly, adverb …   Useful english dictionary

  • ghost|y — «GOHS tee», adjective, ghost|i|er, ghost|i|est. of or like a ghost; ghostly. –ghost´i|ly, adverb …   Useful english dictionary

  • ghost — [gōst] n. [altered (prob. after Fl gheest) < ME goste < OE gast, soul, spirit, demon, akin to Ger geist < IE base * gheizd , to be excited, frightened > Sans hēḋ , to be angry] 1. the spirit or soul: now only in give up the ghost (to… …   English World dictionary

  • ghost|ly — «GOHST lee», adjective, li|er, li|est. 1. like a ghost; pale, dim, and shadowy: »A ghostly form walked across the stage. SYNONYM(S): spectral …   Useful english dictionary

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