wraith Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a mental representation of some haunting experience
    ghost; spectre; shade; spook; specter.
    • he looked like he had seen a ghost
    • it aroused specters from his past

WordNet

Wraith noun
Etymology
Scot. wraith, warth; probably originally, a guardian angel, from Icel. vörthr a warden, guardian, akin to E. ward. See Ward a guard.
Definitions
  1. An apparition of a person in his exact likeness, seen before death, or a little after; hence, an apparition; a specter; a vision; an unreal image. Scot.
    She was uncertain if it were the gypsy or her wraith. Sir W. Scott.
    O, hollow wraith of dying fame. Tennyson.
  2. Sometimes, improperly, a spirit thought to preside over the waters; -- called also water wraith. M. G. Lewis.

Webster 1913