ghost word

American  

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.

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ghost word British  

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of ghost word

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

Pope, Alexander, a ghost word referred to him, 158, 159; Hazlitt on, 142.

From The Booklover and His Books by Koopman, Harry Lyman

Scott, Sir Walter, alterations in the proof-sheets of his "Waverley Novels," 15; a ghost word in his "Monastery," 158; Goethe on, 110; Ruskin on, 109.

From The Booklover and His Books by Koopman, Harry Lyman