Added 9 October 2026
ghostly
/ˈɡoʊstli/ adjective
In Latin: spectralis, phantasmalis Wiktionary
adjective Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about ghostly at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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Resembling or characteristic of a phantom.
a ghostly face at the window
Origin
From Middle English gostly, gastlich, from Old English gāstlīċ (“spiritual, holy, clerical (not lay), ghastly, ghostly, spectral”), from Proto-West Germanic *gaistalīk (“spiritual”), equivalent to ghost + -ly. Cognate with Scots ghaistly, gaistly (“spiritual, ghastly, terrifying”), West Frisian geastlik (“spiritual, clerical, religious”), Dutch geestelijk (“spiritual, clerical, ecclesiastical”), German geistlich (“spiritual, sacred, religious”), Danish geistlig (“ecclesiastical, clerical”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)