Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Wraith

Wraith , noun

[Scot. wraith, warth; probably originally, a guardian angel, from Icelandic vorer a warden, guardian, akin to English ward. See Ward a guard.]

1.
An apparition of a person in his exact likeness, seen before death, or a little after; hence, an apparition; a specter; a vision; an unreal image. [Scottish]
She was uncertain if it were the gypsy or her wraith. — Sir W. Scott
O, hollow wraith of dying fame. — Tennyson
2.
Sometimes, improperly, a spirit thought to preside over the waters; -- called also water wraith. — M. G. Lewis