Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Phantom

Phantom , noun

[Old English fantome, fantosme, fantesme, Old French fantôme, from Latin phantasma, Greek fa`ntasma, from fai`nein to show. See Fancy, and compare Phaeton, Phantasm, Phase.]

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
Collocations (2)
Phantom ship , See Flying Dutchman, under Flying.
Phantom tumor (Medicine) , 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 anasthetic.

Phantom , adjective

Being, or of the nature of, a phantom.
Phantom isles are floating in the skies. — B. Taylor