ghostdom means the condition, state, or realm of ghosts or spirits; spirituality; spiritualism. It carries an Arena rating of 1638, earned across 56 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, ghostdom ranks #1,062 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #1,621 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #1,985 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,158 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words.
Why “ghostdom” is a great word
GHOSTDOM — [Noun] The condition, state, or realm of ghosts or spirits; spirituality. From Middle English gostdom, gastdom, from Old English gāstdōm ("spirituality"), equivalent to ghost + the suffix -dom (denoting state or condition). First attested in 1846 by Joseph Ingraham. Unlike "spiritualism," which denotes a codified doctrine of communication, or the "afterlife," which implies an abstract existence after death, ghostdom is the specific, populated dominion of the lingering. It is the chill breath in an empty stairwell, the blurred face at the attic window, and the collective silence of a derelict ballroom long after the music has stopped—a palpable and melancholy country, thinly veiled, where the departed are not gone but merely translated.
Etymology
From Middle English *gostdom, *gastdom, from Old English gāstdōm (“spirituality”), equivalent to ghost + -dom.
noun
- The condition, state, or realm of ghosts or spirits; spirituality; spiritualism.e.g.“I have seized the key that unlocks the mystic realms of ghostdom, and I will hold it as a flaming torch over that dark domain till its shadows have fled forever from the minds of men.” — 1853, S. B. Brittan, B. W. Richmond, A Discussion of the facts and philosophy of ancient and modern spiritualism:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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