phantom

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈfæntəm/^[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English fantosme, fantom,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Old French fantosme,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Vulgar Latin *fantauma,^[2][3][4] from Latin phantasma (“apparition”),^[3][4][6] from Ancient Greek φάντασμα (phántasma, “image, apparition”).^[2][4] The ph- was restored in English in the late 16th century (1590),^[3][4] on the model of Latin.^[3] It is related to phantasm.^[2][3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Illusion, unreality; a delusion or deception (before 1300), senses now obsolete.^[7][4]

Semantic evolution

The sense of a ghost or spectre, something seen but with no material substance, is from the late 14th century (1382).^[7][4] From 1590 the word also meant an image formed in the mind, an illusion,^[7] and from 1707 something having the form but not the substance of a real thing.^[7][4] The adjective dates from the 15th century,^[4][5] and gave rise to uses such as phantom limb, the felt presence of an amputated limb (1871).^[4]

Timeline

• before 1300 – illusion, deception, now obsolete.^[7][4]
• 1382 – a ghost or apparition.^[7][4]
• 1590 – a mental image; the spelling with ph-.^[7][3]
• 1707 – something with form but no substance.^[7][4]
• 1871 – phantom limb.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Something seen, heard or sensed that has no physical reality; a ghost or apparition.
2. Something elusive or deceptive.
3. An image that exists only in the mind; an illusion.
4. Something dreaded or loathed; a bugbear.

Adjective

1. Being or resembling a phantom; illusory.
2. Fictitious; nonexistent, as in phantom voters.

Word family

• phantomlike
• phantom limb

Related words

• fantasy
• phantasm
• phenomenon
• spectre

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press