wraith

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle Scots wraith, first attested in 1513 as a translation of the Aeneid.[1][2][3]

The word has no certain etymology; it may be a transferred use of Middle Scots wraith, wrath (nominally "anger, rage", adjectivally "angry, wrathful"), thus connecting it to writhe and making it doublet of wrath and wroth.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: rāth, IPA(key): /ɹeɪθ/
  • Rhymes: -eɪθ
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

wraith (plural wraiths)

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

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. ^ Gawin Douglas, transl. (1513), chapter X, in Eneados, volume 10, lines 81–82: “Nor ȝit na vayn wrathys nor gaiſtis quent / Thi char conſtrenyt bakwart forto went ― Nor yet no vain wraiths nor quaint ghosts / constrained Thy chariot to go backward”
  2. ^ Gawin Douglas, transl. (1513), chapter XI, in Eneados, volume 10, lines 95–96: “Syklyke as that, thai ſay, in diuers placis / The wraithis walkis of goiſtis that ar ded ― Such as that, they say, in diverse places / The wraiths walk of ghosts that are dead”
  3. ^ Gawin Douglas, transl. (1513), chapter XI, in Eneados, volume 10, lines 129–130: “Thydder went this wrath or ſchaddo of Ene, / That ſemyt, all abaſyt, faſt to fle ― Thither went this wraith or shade of Ene, / That seemed, all abased, fast to flee”

Further reading

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