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specter

noun
/ˈspɛktɚ/US/ˈspɛktə/UK

Etymology

From Middle French spectre, from Latin spectrum (“appearance, apparition”). Doublet of spectrum.

  1. derived from spectrum
  2. borrowed from spectre

Definitions

  1. A ghostly apparition, a phantom.

    • A specter haunted the cemetery at the old Vasquez manor.

  2. A threatening mental image

    A threatening mental image; an unpleasant prospect

    • 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.
    • Already, the specter of higher interest rates was causing the housing market to seize up.

  3. Any of certain species of dragonfly of the genus Boyeria, family Aeshnidae.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for specter. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA