English

ghost ship

ghost + ship

A compound of ghost + ship

Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéysd-

…

Proto-Germanic *gaistaz ‘terror’

Proto-West Germanic *gaist ‘ghost’

Old English gāst ‘breath’

Middle English gost ‘a spiritual being’

English ghost

Proto-Germanic *skipą ‘ship’

Proto-West Germanic *skip

Old English sċip

Middle English chip

English ship

Today it means

noun An abandoned ship, or (science fiction, by extension) spaceship, that is haunted and possibly adrift.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / ghost ship