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specter

 - 3 dictionary results

spec⋅ter

  [spek-ter]
Use specter in a Sentence
–noun
1. a visible incorporeal spirit, esp. one of a terrifying nature; ghost; phantom; apparition.
2. some object or source of terror or dread: the specter of disease or famine.
Also, especially British, spectre.

Origin:
1595–1605; < L spectrum; see spectrum

Synonyms:
1. shade. See ghost.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To specter
spec·ter   (spěk'tər)   
n.  

  1. A ghostly apparition; a phantom.

  2. A haunting or disturbing image or prospect: the terrible specter of nuclear war.


[French spectre, from Latin spectrum, appearance, apparition; see spectrum.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

specter 
1605, from Fr. spectre "an image, figure, ghost" (16c.), from L. spectrum "appearance, vision, apparition" (see spectrum). Spectral is attested from 1815 in the sense of "ghostly" (first recorded in Shelley); 1832 in sense of "of or pertaining to a spectrum."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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