Where does “ghastly” come from?
Ghastly comes from Old English gǣstan, from Proto-Germanic gaistijaną, meaning to terrify or frighten.
ghastly (English): Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale;...
Definitions
- Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale;...
Ancestry of “ghastly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | gastly | — |
| 2 | Middle English | gastly | — |
| 3 | Middle English | gasten | to terrify |
| 4 | Old English | gǣstan | to gast, frighten, afflict, torment; to torment,... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *gaistijan | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | gaistijaną | — |