Wordwyrt

ghoul

/ˈɡuːl/GOOL
/ˈɡul/GOOL

Meaningattacking suddenly

Common meaning: an evil spirit that robs graves

Journey through time

  1. Arabicghawl‘attacking suddenly’source
  2. Arabicmeaning shiftsattacking suddenly → a demon of the woodsghuwal‘a demon of the woods’source
  3. Persianghol‘a woodland demon’source
  4. Englishmeaning shiftsa woodland demon → an evil spirit that robs gravesghoul‘an evil spirit that robs graves’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Arabic ghawl ‘attacking suddenly’.

Roots

  • ghawl Arabic “attacking suddenly”

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