English
phasm
Phasm may come from Latin phasma ‘an apparation, specter, phantom’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEphasma1‘an apparation, specter, phantom’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1654phasm1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English phasm
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1654, Henry Hammond, Of Fundamentals in a Notion Referring to Practise: “For heart is besides that from thence proceed many…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEphasmaWiktionary, English phasm‘an apparation, specter, phantom’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1654phasmWiktionary, English phasm. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1654, Henry Hammond, Of Fundamentals in a Notion Referring to Practise: “For heart is besides that from thence proceed many…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to shine, glow light’
focus, phone, professor, famous, fuel, ben, favor, favourite, ban, fate, fame, profession, photographer, fatal, bee, fairy, fabulous, abandon, infant, confession, confess, beacon, beck, symphony, boon, eff, fab, fay, bane, fable, foyer, banish, buoy, nefarious, prophetic, profess, bene, banal, infamy, prophesy, 115 more
through Proto-Hellenic *pʰáňňō ‘to appear’
through Ancient Greek φαίνω ‘to cause to appear’
fancy, fantasy, phenomenon, emphasis, phantom, epiphany, fantasia, phenomenology, phenomenally, phenol, phenom, tryptophan, phantasm, 40 more
Today it means
noun An apparition; a phantom.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “phasm”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Latin phasma / phasm