phantom

See also: Phantom

English

Alternative forms

• fantom (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English fantom, fantum, from Old French fantosme, fantasme, from Latin phantasma (“an apparition, specter; (in Late Latin also) appearance, image”), from Ancient Greek φάντασμα (phántasma, “phantasm, an appearance, image, apparition, specter”), from φαντάζω (phantázō, “I make visible”). Doublet of phantasm.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfæntəm/

  • Audio (UK)

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Noun

phantom (plural phantoms)

1. A ghost or apparition.
2. Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality; an image that appears only in the mind; an illusion or delusion.
3. (bridge) A placeholder for a pair of players when there are an odd number of pairs playing.
4. (medical imaging) A test object. A test phantom is an object that reproduces the characteristics of human tissue.

Synonyms

• ghost
• See also Thesaurus:ghost

Derived terms

• phantom limb
• phantom pain

Related terms

• fantasy

Translations

something having no physical reality

• Armenian: ուրվական (hy) (urvakan)
• Bulgarian: привидение (bg) n (prividenie), илюзия (bg) f (iljuzija)
• Catalan: fantasma (ca) m
• Czech: přízrak m
• Danish: fantom c
• Dutch: fantoom (nl)
• Esperanto: fantomo
• Finnish: aave (fi)
• French: fantôme (fr) m
• German: Phantom (de) n
• Greek: Φαντομάς (Fantomás)

  Ancient: φάντασμα n (phántasma), φάσμα n (phásma)

• Irish: amhailt f
• Italian: fantasma (it) m, spettro (it) m
• Japanese: 幻 (ja) (maboroshi)

• Maori: mariko, pō-mariko, pō-mārikoriko
• Norwegian: fantom c, fantomet
• Persian: شبح‎ (fa) (šabah)
• Plautdietsch: Spuak m
• Polish: fantom (pl) m
• Portuguese: fantasma (pt) m
• Romanian: fantomă (ro) f
• Romansch: fantom m
• Russian: при́зрак (ru) m (prízrak), тень (ru) f (tenʹ), фанто́м (ru) m (fantóm)
• Sardinian: pantùma, pantàsima, umbra f
• Spanish: fantasma (es) m
• Sumerian: 𒈠𒊬 (/mamud/), 𒆤 (/lil/), 𒋝𒋝 (/sisig/), 𒄇 (/gidim/)
• Swedish: fantom (sv) m
• Tagalog: bibit

test object

• Portuguese: fantoma m

Adjective

phantom (not comparable)

1. Illusive
   • 1899, Stephen Crane, chapter 1, in Twelve O'Clock:

     […] (it was the town's humour to be always gassing of phantom investors who were likely to come any moment and pay a thousand prices for everything) — “[…] Them rich fellers, they don't make no bad breaks with their money. […]”

2. Fictitious or nonexistent

   a phantom limb

Derived terms

• phantomness

Translations

unreal or fictitious

• Bulgarian: илюзорен (bg) (iljuzoren)
• Italian: immaginario (it) m, immaginaria (it) f, irreale (it)

• Maori: mariko
• Russian: нереальный (ru) (nerealʹnyj), иллюзорный (ru) (illjuzornyj), фантомный (ru) (fantomnyj)

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2022), “phantom”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• Hampton