phantom
See also: Phantom
English
Alternative forms
- fantom (archaic)
Etymology
From Middle English fantom, fantum, borrowed from Old French fantosme, from Latin phantasma, from Ancient Greek φάντασμα (phántasma). Doublet of phantasm.
Pronunciation
Noun
phantom (plural phantoms)
- A ghost or apparition.
- Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality; an image that appears only in the mind; an illusion or delusion.
- (bridge) A placeholder for a pair of players when there are an odd number of pairs playing.
- (medical imaging) A test object. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
Synonyms
- ghost
- See also Thesaurus:ghost
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
something having no physical reality
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Adjective
phantom (not comparable)
- 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. […]”
- Fictitious or nonexistent.
- a phantom limb
Translations
unreal or fictitious
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Further reading
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “phantom”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams
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