phantom

Meaning

Noun

1. A ghost or apparition.
2. Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality; an image that appears only in the mind; an illusion or delusion.
3. A placeholder for a pair of players when there are an odd number of pairs playing.
4. A test object. A test phantom is an object that reproduces the characteristics of human tissue.

Adj

1. Illusive.
2. Fictitious or nonexistent.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈfæntəm/

Etymology

From Middle English fantome, fanteme, from Old French fantosme, fantasme, from Latin phantasma (“an apparition, specter; (in Late Latin also) appearance, image”), from Ancient Greek φάντασμα (phántasma, “phantasm, an appearance, image, apparition, specter”), from φαντάζω (phantázō, “I make visible”). Doublet of phantasm.