Eidolon
/ˈaɪ.də.lɒn/noun
An image, phantom, or idealized representation of a person or thing.
Did you know?In Greek literature, an eidolon could be a mere likeness—or a real ghostly double—so the word has always lived on the border between image and apparition.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*weid-
“to see, know”
Ancient Greek
Greek
εἴδωλον (eidōlon)
“image, likeness, phantom, apparition”
Late Latin
Latin
idolum
“image, phantom, idol”
Middle French
French
idole
“idol, false god”
16th Century
English
eidolon
“an apparition or specter”
Modern English
English
eidolon
“an image, phantom, or idealized figure”