definitions

wraith

[ reyth ]
/ reɪθ /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wraith ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an apparition of a living person supposed to portend his or her death.
a visible spirit.

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RELATED WORDS

phantom, apparition, specter, vision, spirit, shadowy

Nearby words

wraaf, wrac, wrack, wrackful, wraf, wraith, wran, wrang, wrangel, wrangel island, wrangell

Origin of wraith

1505–15; originally Scots; origin uncertain
Related formswraith·like, adjective
Can be confusedwraith wreath wreathe writhe
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wraith

British Dictionary definitions for wraith

wraith

/ (reɪθ) /

noun

the apparition of a person living or thought to be alive, supposed to appear around the time of his death
a ghost or any apparition
an insubstantial copy of something
something pale, thin, and lacking in substance, such as a column of smoke
Derived Formswraithlike, adjective

Word Origin for wraith

C16: Scottish, of unknown origin
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

Word Origin and History for wraith

wraith

n.

1510s, "ghost," Scottish, of uncertain origin. Weekley suggests Old Norse vorðr "guardian" in the sense of "guardian angel." Klein points to Gaelic and Irish arrach "specter, apparition."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper