Phantom

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈfæntəm/

Definitions

1. An apparition or ghost, or something that appears real but exists only in the imagination
2. A spectral or illusory entity that seems to exist but lacks physical substance or reality
3. An insubstantial apparition or figment that appears to manifest but has no genuine material presence

Etymology: The Greek word "phantasma" was never a ghost story to begin with. It came from "phantazein," "to make visible," itself built on "phainein," "to show, bring to light," so the root idea was of something being displayed to the eye. Greek used "phantasma" for an appearance or image, and the sense of a spectre crept in only later, once images of the dead began to be treated as their own kind of thing. The word reached English through Latin "phantasma," which Late Latin writers used for an appearance or image, and then through Old French "fantosme" and "fantasme," which carried the same sense of a vision or illusion. Middle English took it as "fantome" and "fanteme" before it settled into the form we use now. Its sibling "phantasm," which came into English more directly from Latin, kept the more learned, ghostly sense, while "phantom" drifted toward ghosts seen by the living and, later, toward things that only seem to exist.

Synonyms: ghost, spirit, apparition, shade, wraith

Antonyms: reality, truth, fact, substance, presence