Haunt

How to spell haunt

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce haunt

What does haunt mean?

1. verbTo visit or trouble repeatedly, as a ghost is said to return to a place or as a memory keeps returning to the mind.
2. nounA place that someone visits regularly or likes to spend time in.

Haunt in a sentence

• verb

  Locals claim a grey figure continues to haunt the old mill at night.

• noun

  The corner cafe was a favourite haunt of the local writers.

• verb

  The mistakes from that project still haunt him years later.

• noun

  That quiet riverside bench has long been her usual haunt.

Where does haunt come from?

Language of origin: French

Haunt arrived in English in the 1200s from the Old French verb hanter, which meant 'to frequent a place' or 'to visit often', with no spooky connotation at all. The older history is debated, but many scholars trace hanter back to a Germanic source related to the Old Norse heimta, meaning 'to bring home' or 'fetch', tied to the idea of a home or dwelling. For centuries 'haunt' simply meant to go somewhere habitually, which is why a person's regular pub or cafe is still called their old haunt. The ghostly sense, of spirits repeatedly returning to a place, grew in English by the 1500s and was popularised in literature, eventually overtaking the neutral meaning. The silent connection between the 'au' vowel and the simple 't' ending is the small spelling snag, since the word sounds like 'hawnt' yet keeps that French-flavoured 'au'.

How the word is built

• haunt (single root, from Old French hanter: to frequent, resort to)