Eidolic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Pertaining to something that resembles a ghostly image or phantom, especially a spectral or ethereal form
2. Describing qualities or appearances that suggest an illusory or spirit-like presence, like a vision or apparition
3. Connected with or characteristic of a phantom-like or shadowy figure, typically one that is insubstantial or dreamlike

Etymology: "Eidolic" is a plain formation: the adjective-forming suffix "-ic" attached to "eidolon." The suffix comes from Greek "-ikos," which turned nouns into adjectives meaning "pertaining to" or "characteristic of," so the word means something like "of the nature of an eidolon." The base word carries the real interest. In ancient Greek, "eidolon" meant an image, likeness, or phantom, from "eidos," meaning form or appearance, which is also the root of "idea." Greek writers used "eidolon" for the ghostly double of a dead person, the shade that lingered after death, and in Homer the dead appear as eidola that cannot be embraced. Over time, the word came to mean any insubstantial image, such as a reflection or a dream figure. English borrowed "eidolon" directly from Greek, and "eidolic" follows that line into the language. Its sense stays close to the Greek: it describes things that resemble a shadowy or dreamlike apparition more than a solid body.

Synonyms: ideal, visionary, dreamlike, fantastic, mythical

Antonyms: realistic, practical, mundane, ordinary, factual