Wights

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term used to refer to supernatural beings or spirits, often depicted as manifestations of the dead or elemental forces
2. A word for various types of entities or creatures in folklore, commonly implying an otherworldly aspect
3. A descriptor for figures associated with supernatural realms, including undead beings and mysterious entities in literature and mythology

Etymology: "Wights" is the plural of "wight," which in Old English meant a creature, being, or person, and survives today in "whit" in "not a whit" and in "aught" and "naught." The supernatural sense, a ghost or spirit, is mainly a Scots and Northern English development, and J. R. R. Tolkien's barrow-wights revived it for modern readers.