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.

ghost word

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of ghost word¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

Coined by philologist Walter William Skeat in 1886, ghost words are often the result of misreadings and typographical errors.

From Salon

He shouted ghost words to the empty streets.

From Literature

Professor Skeat, in his presidential address to the members of the Philological Society in 1886, gave a most interesting account of some hundred ghost words, or words which have no real existence.

From Project Gutenberg

Esquivalience is gone now from the online reference as well as the NOAD, but as with all ghost words, its semantic spirit still remains.

From Salon