wraith
RAYTH · noun
Middle ScotsEnglish
Origin
Wraith enters English from Middle Scots, first attested in 1513 in a translation of the Aeneid. Its earlier history is uncertain, though it may be a transferred use of Middle Scots wraith meaning 'anger, rage' or 'angry, wrathful.'
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Journey
The word's meaning seems to have shifted from something tied to anger or fury toward the pale, spectral sense of a ghost or apparition, though the exact path is unknown.
Related words
If the theory linking it to Middle Scots wraith ('wrath') holds, this word would be a doublet of wrath and wroth, and distantly tied to writhe.