English
spook
Spook comes from Dutch spook ‘ghost’, and goes back to Middle Dutch spooc.
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500spooc‘spook, ghost’
- Dutchc. 1500–presentspook‘ghost’
- Englishearliest quotation 1845same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500spooc‘spook, ghost’
- Dutchc. 1500–presentspook‘ghost’
- Englishearliest quotation 1845same form
Earliest quotation: 1845, Max Stirner, Dover: “He who is infatuated with Man leaves persons out…”
Every English word from Middle Dutch spooc
Today it means
noun A ghost or phantom.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle Dutch spooc / spook