Fake Etymologies

Interesting is just as good as true.

ghost, n. /ɡoʊst/

From the French WWII slang ghocer, meaning “to die with unfinished business.” Common among La Résistance française and picked up by G.I.s after the liberation of Paris. Eventually transformed through common usage from the past perfect, as in “He’s ghoced,” to a noun, as in “He’s a ghost.”