specter
English
WOTD – 26 October 2015
Alternative forms
- spectre (Commonwealth English)
Etymology
From French spectre, from Latin spectrum (“appearance, apparition”).
Pronunciation
- (General American) enPR: spĕkʹtər, IPA(key): /ˈspɛktɚ/
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: spĕkʹtə, IPA(key): /ˈspɛktə/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛktə(ɹ)
Noun
specter (plural specters)
- A ghostly apparition, a phantom
- A specter haunted the cemetery at the old Vasquez manor.
- (figuratively) A threatening mental image
- Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto
- A specter is haunting Europe — the specter of communism. All the powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this specter: Pope and Tsar, Metternich and Guizot, French Radicals and German police-spies.
- Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:ghost
Related terms
- spectral
- specter bat
- specter candle
- specter shrimp
Translations
ghostly apparition
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Anagrams
Latin
Verb
specter
- first-person singular present passive subjunctive of spectō
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