ghost word


noun
  1. a word that has come into existence by error rather than by normal linguistic transmission, as through the mistaken reading of a manuscript, a scribal error, or a misprint.

Origin of ghost word

1
First recorded in 1885–90

Words Nearby ghost word

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How to use ghost word in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ghost word

ghost word

noun
  1. a word that has entered the language through the perpetuation, in dictionaries, etc, of an error

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012