different between phantasm vs wraith

English

Alternative forms

• fantasm
• phantasim (obsolete)
• phantasma

Etymology

A learned variant of phantom; from Middle English fantosme, from Old French fantosme, fantasme, from Latin phantasma, from Ancient Greek ???????? (phántasma). Doublet of phantom.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?fæntæz?m/
• Hyphenation: phan?tasm

Noun

phantasm (plural phantasms)

1. Something seen but having no physical reality; a phantom or apparition.
   • 1900, Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams, Avon Books, (translated by James Strachey) pg. 74:

     He declares that there seems to be no justification for regarding the phantasms of dreams as pure hallucinations; most dream-images are probably in fact illusions, since they arise from faint sense-impressions, which never cease during sleep.

2. (philosophy) A impression as received by the senses, especially an image, often prior to any interpretation by the intellect.

   Synonym: (less common) phantasia

Derived terms

• phantasmal
• phantasmic

Related terms

• fancy
• fantasize
• fantastic
• fantasy
• phantasmatic
• phantom

Further reading

• phantasm in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• phantasm in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• phantasm at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• panthams

English

Etymology

First attested 1513, in a Middle Scots translation of the Aeneid.

The word has no certain etymology. J. R. R. Tolkien favored a link with writhe. Also compared are Scots warth and Old Norse v?rðr (“watcher, guardian”), whence Icelandic vörður (“guard”). See also wray/bewray, from Middle English wreien. Perhaps from wrath as a wraith is a vengeful spirit.

Pronunciation

• enPR: r?th, IPA^(key): /?e??/
• Rhymes: -e??

Noun

wraith (plural wraiths)

1. A ghost or specter, especially a person's likeness seen just after their death.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:ghost
2. (slang, African-American Vernacular, MLE) A showy motor vehicle, a ”whip”.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:automobile

Derived terms

• wraithish
• wraithful
• wraithlike

Translations

Further reading

• wraith on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• wraith in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

References