Dictionary

ghost word en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Coined by Walter William Skeat in 1886; from ghost + word.

Meanings

1. A fictitious or erroneous word, originally meaningless (not used in practice), that has been published in a dictionary or similarly authoritative reference work or otherwise listed as genuine, generally as the result of misinterpretation, misreading, or typographical error.
   • Here such cases as ghost words & misglosses, secondary semantics, different etymologies for one etymon or one etymology for different etyma, and finally semantic overpermissiveness are discussed. 2006, Folia orientalia - Volumes 42-43, page 467:
   • Anglo-Indian English was recognised in colonial days as having unique features, but it was never called Hobson-Jobson at that time. Therefore, this is really a ghost word, or, rather, a ghost meaning. 2014, James Lambert, “A Much Tortured Expression: A New Look At 'Hobson-Jobson'”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 27, number 1, page 65:

Forms

Relateds

sniglet · nihilartikel · Mountweazel

Synonyms

phantom word

Translations (13)

ru несуществу́ющее сло́во (a fictitious or erroneous word) · es fantasma lexicográfico (a fictitious or erroneous word) · de Ghostword (a fictitious or erroneous word) · de Geisterwort (a fictitious or erroneous word) · hu szellemszó (a fictitious or erroneous word) · hy ուրվական բառ (a fictitious or erroneous word) · ca mot fantasma (a fictitious or erroneous word) · ru слово-призрак (a fictitious or erroneous word) · hi भूत शब्द (a fictitious or erroneous word) · es palabra fantasma (a fictitious or erroneous word) · fr mot fantôme (a fictitious or erroneous word) · ja 幽霊語 (a fictitious or erroneous word) · nl spookwoord (a fictitious or erroneous word)