*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of geist

From German Geist (“spirit, ghost, mind”). Doublet of ghost.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A ghost, an apparition. · Spirit (of a group, age, era, etc).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From German Geist (“spirit, ghost, mind”). Doublet of ghost.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionGeistde · spirit, ghost, mind
  • Doublet mentionghosten
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "Geist",
        "t": "spirit, ghost, mind"
      },
      "expansion": "German Geist (“spirit, ghost, mind”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ghost"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of ghost"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Geist",
      "Geist#German"
    ],
    [
      "ghost",
      "ghost#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A ghost, an apparition.",
        "Spirit (of a group, age, era, etc)."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "7f190adae0dc60ec7e83b6cadc009213c621b14389574458314f6c4df96e7db6",
      "rawRecordSha256": "a0b076e0d93ba2ccfc1f215d3228c6de04345dfe67d4b7878c1773510ce80412",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4223469
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for geist →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Z2Vpc3Q