The subject of ghost words came up at wordorigins and someone asked if there were any words now considered legitimate that started life as ghost words. I thought some here may be able to cast some light on this question.

http://p098.ezboard.com/fwordoriginsorgfrm1.showMessage?topicID=12563.topic

For any of y'all that don't know, a ghost word is a word that got started by accident and exists only in a dictionary. See the thread at wordorigins for further details.

a ghost word is a word that got started by accident and exists only in a dictionary

Well, yes, and no, Faldage.

A ghostword got started by accident, true, but it does exist in the english language, and that independent existence may or may not be recognized by an english dictionary. Please see definition below.

The best example of a ghostword I can think of off-hand is "Vamoose", a word very common in all the old "cowboy and Indian" movies.

"Vamoose" obviously derives from the Spanish [Mexican] word "Vamos" for "We go" or "Let's go"*.

ghost word
Wordweb Online

A word form that has entered the language through the perpetuation of an error

http://www.annlewis.net/en/GHOSTWORD

* Dictionary.com vamoose
intr.v. Slang va·moosed, va·moos·ing, va·moos·es
To leave hurriedly.

[From Spanish vamos, let's go, from Latin vdmus, first person pl. present subjunctive of vdere, to go.]

Probably the most common example of a "ghostword" is a "borrowed word" which is banalized, through incorrect pronunciation, upon entry into common usage in the english language. Eventually, the word will be recognized, in its banalized form, in an english dictionary.

Anu often uses the term "borrowed word"* to describe words which are "borrowed" [or 'imported'] from other countries or languages, often with an incomplete understanding of the actual meaning of the word in the country or language of origin.

I note that the word "banalize" is not defined, in the sense in which I use it here, in any of the dictionaries I've consulted online including OneLook.com.

I am using the word "banalize" not in the ordinary dictionary sense of "commonplace", but in the sense in which it is used in the vocabulary of psychologists and memory researchers; namely, to mean "oversimplification", or to describe the degradation of memory through association with something more familiar.

When an 'alien' word enters our language, it is entirely understandable that we would 'banalize' its pronunciation, that is, modify, or oversimply, its pronunciation to accord with our own habits and conventions of pronunciation.

* AWADmail Issue 124 - June 6, 2004
A Weekly Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day ...

From: Catharine Nevin Chu (chuATdreamscape.com)
Subject: French in English

I'm pleased to hear you're doing French borrowings this week. Isn't it funny how words can change their meaning in the process of being borrowed?

There are several examples of this in French, such as footing meaning jogging.

Another amusing phenomenon: In English we sometimes use the expression "to take French leave." In French this meaning is conveyed by "filer a l'anglaise" -- literally, to leave in English style.

One of the ref.'s there was pretty interesting, Faldage:
http://wordways.com/ghost.htm

Dord has been brought up here, but I have never heard of PHANTOMNATION , and would like to humbly offer this "definition": Atlantis. [tongue in cheek e]

here is a "Refutation of the OED's List of Spurious Words" as given in the wordways article:
http://www.specgram.com/Babel.I.3/04.files.spurious.html

(zzxjoanw is mentioned in the wordways article -- apologies to sjmaxq :)

"Refutation of the OED's List of Spurious Words" as given in the wordways article

Uh-huh. Here's an exerpt from the "refutation."

The story within was copied down by a 12th century Lutheran monk who had been defrocked for claiming that he could do cold fusion using Tupperware.