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If you see your own double, you're in trouble, at least if you believe old superstitions. The belief that a ghostly twin's appearance portends death is one common to many cultures. In German folklore, such an apparition is called a Doppelgänger (literally, "double goer"); in Scottish lore, they are wraiths. The exact origin of the word wraith is misty, however, and etymologists can only trace it back to the early 16th century—in particular to a 1513 translation of Virgil's Aeneid by Gavin Douglas (the Scotsman used wraith to name apparitions of both the dead and the living). In current English, wraith has taken on additional, less spooky, meanings; it now often suggests a shadowy—but not necessarily scary—lack of substance.
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Examples of wraith in a Sentence
Brian Steinberg, Variety, 31 Oct. 2024
Human puppets swayed over a Pont like wraiths of those who had been staked there.
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Dashing through it all was the torchbearer, his identity unknown.
—Sally Jenkins, Washington Post, 27 July 2024
And the second revealed the full menagerie of creatures that will appear in Season 2, including wraiths, wolves, ents and a giant cave troll.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 26 July 2024
In theory, Netflix’s Dead Boy Detectives should be a feast for the misery wraiths, faceless creatures who feed on pain and suffering.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Apr. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Wraith.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wraith. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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