ghost

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The spirit of a dead person that some believe can appear to the living.

   The children were sure a ghost was haunting the old house.

2. 2
   verb

   To suddenly stop all contact with someone, especially in a relationship.

   They went on two dates and then he ghosted her completely.

3. 3
   noun

   A writer who writes a book or article that is credited to someone else.

   The star's memoir was actually written by a ghost.

4. 4
   verb

   To write a book or article for someone else, who is named as the author.

   She ghosted three best-selling autobiographies last year.

The noun is derived from Middle English gost, from Old English gāst, gǣst (“breath, spirit, soul, ghost”) (compare modern English Holy Ghost), from Proto-West Germanic *gaist, from Proto-Germanic *gaistaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéysdos, from *ǵʰéysd- (“anger, agitation”). The h in the spelling appears in the Prologue to William Caxton’s Royal Book, printed in 1484, in a reference to the “Holy Ghoost”. It was likely influenced by Middle Dutch gheest, a common variant of geest. Both Caxton and his assistant Wynkyn de Worde had connections to the Low Countries. Doublet of geist. The adjectiv…

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