Apparition
/ˌæp.əˈrɪʃ.ən/noun
A ghostly figure or an unexpected sudden appearance.
Did you know?Apparition entered English through French and Latin, and its eerie modern sense of a ghost is a later development from the older idea of a mere “appearance.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*per-
“to bring forth, produce, or strike through”
Latin
Latin
apparēre
“to come into view, appear”
Late Latin
Latin
apparitiō
“a appearing; an appearance”
Old French
Old French
apparicion
“appearance; manifestation”
Middle English
English
apparicioun
“appearance, especially a supernatural one”
Modern English
English
apparition
“a ghostly figure or sudden appearance”