doppelgänger

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 31, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>doppelgänger</strong> &#149; \DAH-pul-gang-er\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p>A <em>doppelgänger</em> is a person who resembles someone else, or a ghostly counterpart of a living person.</p> <p>// The plot of the story thickens when the main character's <em>doppelgänger</em> turns out to be a wanted criminal.</p> <p>// In the movie, the child interacts with a ghostly <em>doppelgänger</em>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doppelganger">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"A paranormal investigation group … visited the historic opera house…. During the visit, the group claimed to have seen the spirit of Sorg sitting in the balcony, … captured audio of ghosts speaking and singing and photographed a <em>doppelganger</em>." — Lisa Powell, <em>The Dayton (Ohio) Daily News</em>, 14 Oct. 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>According to German folklore, all living creatures have a spirit double who is invisible but identical to the living individual. These second selves are perceived as being distinct from <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ghost">ghosts</a> (which appear only after death), and sometimes they are described as the spiritual opposite or negative of their human counterparts. German writers coined the word <em>Doppelg</em>ä<em>nger</em> (from <em>doppel-</em>, meaning "double," and <em>-g</em>ä<em>nger</em>, meaning "goer") to refer to such <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/specter">specters</a>.</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>