I. ˈhȯnt, ˈhänt verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French hanter, probably from Old Norse heimta to lead home, pull, claim, from heimr home
Date: 14th century
transitive verb
1.
a. : to visit often : frequent
b. : to continually seek the company of
2.
a. : to have a disquieting or harmful effect on : trouble
problems we ignore now will come back to haunt us
b. : to recur constantly and spontaneously to
the tune haunt ed her
c. : to reappear continually in
a sense of tension that haunt s his writing
3. : to visit or inhabit as a ghost
intransitive verb
1. : to stay around or persist : linger
2. : to appear habitually as a ghost
• haunt·er noun
• haunt·ing·ly ˈhȯn-tiŋ-lē, ˈhän- adverb
II. ˈhȯnt, ˈhänt, 2 is usually ˈhant noun
Date: 14th century
1. : a place habitually frequented
2. chiefly dialect : ghost