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Webster 1913 Edition

Ghostly

Ghost′ly

,
Adj.
[OE.
gastlich
,
gostlich
, AS.
gāstlic
. See
Ghost
.]
1.
Relating to the soul; not carnal or secular; spiritual;
as, a
ghostly
confessor
.
Save and defend us from our
ghostly
enemies.
Book of Common Prayer [Ch. of Eng. ]
One of the
gostly
children of St. Jerome.
Jer. Taylor.
2.
Of or pertaining to apparitions.
Akenside.

Ghost′ly

,
adv.
Spiritually; mystically.
Chaucer.

Webster 1828 Edition

Ghostly

GHOSTLY

,
Adj.
Spiritual; relating to the soul; not carnal or secular.
Save and defend us from our ghostly enemies.
1.
Spiritual; having a character from religion; as a ghostly father.
2.
Pertaining to apparitions.

Definition 2024

ghostly

ghostly

English

Adjective

ghostly ‎(comparative ghostlier, superlative ghostliest)

  1. Of or pertaining to ghosts or spirits.
    a ghostly figure with a hood.
    the graveyard was haunted by a ghostly figure of a young girl.
    the ghostly moaning was heard from upstairs.
  2. Spooky; frightening.
  3. Relating to the soul; not carnal or secular; spiritual.
    a ghostly confessor
    • Book of Common Prayer
      Save and defend us from our ghostly enemies.
    • Jeremy Taylor
      One of the ghostly children of St. Jerome.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:ghostly

Translations

See also

Etymology

From Middle English gostly, gastlich, from Old English gāstlīċ ‎(“spiritual, holy, clerical (not lay), ghastly, ghostly, spectral”), equivalent to ghost +‎ -ly. Cognate with Scots gostly, gastly, gaistlie ‎(“spiritual, ghastly, terrifying”), West Frisian geastlik ‎(“spiritual, clerical, religious”), Dutch geestelijk ‎(“spiritual, clerical, ecclesiastical”), German geistlich ‎(“spiritual, sacred, religious”), Danish geistlig ‎(“ecclesiastical, clerical”).

Pronunciation

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