ectoplasm
/ˈɛktəˌplæzəm/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.07 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A visible substance believed to emanate from the body of a spiritualistic medium during communication with the dead.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
An immaterial or ethereal substance, especially the transparent corporeal presence of a spirit or ghost.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "He saw again clearly enough[…]the doctor’s consulting room in the Avenida de la Revolución, visited for some drunken reason in the early hours of the morning, macabre with its pictures of ancient Spanish surgeons, their goat faces rising queerly from ruffs resembling ectoplasm, roaring with laughter as they performed inquisitorial operations; […]"
- "Watching as the woman lifted her skirts and flung out ectoplasm, expelled it into a bowl, then brandished it around at her audience wildly."
- "Then came some hollow groanings from inside the cabinet. The Spiritualists sat up expectantly. "That's ectoplasm," said Ogilvy. "It always causes pain on emission.""
Etymology
From ecto- (“outside”) + plasm or -plasm, referring to the fact that ectoplasm is believed to emanate from and materialize outside of the medium's body.
Word Breakdown
- Prefix: ecto