WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Phan"tom
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [OE. fantome, fantosme, fantesme, OF. fant?me, fr. L. phantasma, Gr. Fancy, and cf. Pha?ton, Phantasm, Phase.]
Definition : Defn: That which has only an apparent existence; an apparition; a specter; a phantasm; a sprite; an airy spirit; an ideal image. Strange phantoms rising as the mists arise. Pope. She was a phantom of delight. Wordsworth. Phantom ship. See Flying Dutchman, under Flying. -- Phantom tumor (Med.), a swelling, especially of the abdomen, due to muscular spasm, accumulation of flatus, etc., simulating an actual tumor in appearance, but disappearing upon the administration of an an?sthetic.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913