spook
to frighten (a person or animal)
TRANSLATION
spook = erschrecken spook (noun) = das Gespenst, der Spuk spook (ugs.) = der Spion --- GOOGLE INDEX spook: approximately 2,700,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Angry Greeks don't SPOOK the markets half as much as angry Germans: especially if the Germans who are angry about the Greek situation include the chancellor, Angela Merkel.
(BBC News)
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New Yorkers SPOOKED, but defiant after car bomb plot
(BBC - News Headline)
(BBC News)
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New Yorkers SPOOKED, but defiant after car bomb plot
(BBC - News Headline)
Did you
know?
spook
verb
- to frighten a person or animal
noun
- ghost
- spy (colloquial)
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
Spook is thought to have derived from the German "Spuk," meaning a ghost or spirit. Because most people view ghosts and spirits as frightening, the transition to the verb form - to scare or frighten - was easy.
The use of spook as slang for a spy was first recorded in the 1940s. This stems from the mysterious and sometimes scary nature of this profession, which has been reinforced in countless books and films.
Be aware that spook was also commonly used in a derogatory racial sense, particularly in the United States, to describe blacks. This may come from the notion of dark skin being difficult to see at night. With a dark sense of humour black pilots who trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama during World War II called themselves the Spookwaffe.
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SYNONYMS
(verb)
frighten, horrify, petrify, scare, terrify, unnerve
(ghost)
apparition, spirit, daemon, poltergeist, phantom
(spy)
agent, mole, secret agent, sleuth, snoop, scout
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Knock on the door and try not to spook me the next time you come into my office."
verb
- to frighten a person or animal
noun
- ghost
- spy (colloquial)
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
Spook is thought to have derived from the German "Spuk," meaning a ghost or spirit. Because most people view ghosts and spirits as frightening, the transition to the verb form - to scare or frighten - was easy.
The use of spook as slang for a spy was first recorded in the 1940s. This stems from the mysterious and sometimes scary nature of this profession, which has been reinforced in countless books and films.
Be aware that spook was also commonly used in a derogatory racial sense, particularly in the United States, to describe blacks. This may come from the notion of dark skin being difficult to see at night. With a dark sense of humour black pilots who trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama during World War II called themselves the Spookwaffe.
---
SYNONYMS
(verb)
frighten, horrify, petrify, scare, terrify, unnerve
(ghost)
apparition, spirit, daemon, poltergeist, phantom
(spy)
agent, mole, secret agent, sleuth, snoop, scout
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Knock on the door and try not to spook me the next time you come into my office."
