haunt

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

Also spelled a-ha’nting and ha’nt

US /hɔnt/ UK /hɔːnt/ See IPA manual

Freq #8565

Meanings

1

verb
(of a ghost) To appear repeatedly in a place.

People say a ghost haunts the old castle.
2

verb
To keep coming back into someone's mind in a troubling way.

The memory of the accident haunted him for years.
3

verb
To visit a place often.

He haunts the second-hand bookshops looking for rare editions.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to keep coming back into... nag

3 verb · to visit a place often. frequent

More dwell

Word family

Forms hauntedhaunts

Derived forms de-hauntdehauntdishaunthauntablehaunteehaunterhauntologyhauntsomehaunty

Etymology

From Middle English haunten (“to reside, inhabit, use, employ”), from Old French hanter (“to inhabit, frequent, resort to”), from Old Northern French hanter (“to go back home, frequent”), from Old Norse heimta (“to bring home, fetch”) or/and from Old English hāmettan (“to bring home; house; cohabit with”); both from Proto-Germanic *haimatjaną (“to house, bring home”), from Proto-Germanic *haimaz (“village, home”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóymos (“village”). Cognate with Old English hǣman (“to cohabit, lie with, marry”); related to Old English hām (“home, village”), Old French hantin (“a stay…

*ḱey- Proto-Indo-European haunten Middle English hanter Old French heimta Old Norse hāmettan Old English *haimatjaną Proto-Germanic *haimaz Proto-Germanic *ḱóymos Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Register & Style

External links

# haunt

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /hɔnt/
**IPA (UK):** /hɔːnt/
**Frequency rank:** 8565

## Meanings
1. (of a ghost) To appear repeatedly in a place.
2. To keep coming back into someone's mind in a troubling way.
3. To visit a place often.

## Examples
- People say a ghost haunts the old castle.
- The memory of the accident haunted him for years.
- He haunts the second-hand bookshops looking for rare editions.

## Synonyms
- dwell

## Derived Forms
- de-haunt
- dehaunt
- dishaunt
- hauntable
- hauntee
- haunter
- hauntology
- hauntsome
- haunty

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ḱey-
- Root: haunten
- Root: hanter
- Root: heimta
- Root: hāmettan
- Root: *haimatjaną
- Root: *haimaz
- Root: *ḱóymos

## Etymology
From Middle English haunten (“to reside, inhabit, use, employ”), from Old French hanter (“to inhabit, frequent, resort to”), from Old Northern French hanter (“to go back home, frequent”), from Old Norse heimta (“to bring home, fetch”) or/and from Old English hāmettan (“to bring home; house; cohabit with”); both from Proto-Germanic *haimatjaną (“to house, bring home”), from Proto-Germanic *haimaz (“village, home”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóymos (“village”). Cognate with Old English hǣman (“to cohabit, lie with, marry”); related to Old English hām (“home, village”), Old French hantin (“a stay…

## AI Etymology
Haunt comes from Middle English haunten (“to reside, inhabit, use, employ”), from Old French hanter (“to inhabit, frequent, resort to”), from Old Northern French hanter (“to go back home, frequent”), from Old Norse heimta (“to bring home, fetch”) or/and from Old English hāmettan (“to bring home; house; cohabit with”); both from Proto-Germanic *haimatjaną (“to house, bring home”), from Proto-Germanic *haimaz (“village, home”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóymos (“village”). The historical line also includes *ḱey- (Proto-Indo-European). In current use, the main senses are “(of a ghost) To appear repeatedly in a place” and “To keep coming back into someone's mind in a troubling way”.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Register & Style

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