Ghost word

A ghost word is a word published in a dictionary or similarly authoritative reference work, having rarely, if ever, been used in practice, and previously having been meaningless. As a rule, a ghost word will have originated from an error, such as a misinterpretation, mispronunciation, misreading, or from typographical or linguistic confusion.
Once authoritatively published, a ghost word occasionally may be copied widely and take a long time to be erased from usage (if it ever is).
Origin.
The term ghost words was coined and originally presented in public by Professor Walter William Skeat in his annual address as president of the Philological Society in 1886. He said in part:
It turned out that "kimes" was a misprint for "knives", but the word gained currency for some time. A more drastic example followed, also cited in Skeat's address:
One example of such an edition of "The Monastery" was published by the Edinburgh University Press in 1820.
More examples.
In his address, Skeat exhibited about 100 more specimens that he had collected.
Other examples include:
Speculative examples.
Many neologisms, including those that eventually develop into established usages, are of obscure origin, and some might well have originated as ghost words through illiteracy, such as the term "okay". However, establishing the true origin often is not possible, partly for lack of documentation, and sometimes through obstructive efforts on the part of pranksters. The most popular etymology of the word pumpernickel bread - that Napoleon described it as "C'est pain pour Nicole!", being only fit for his horse - is thought to be a deliberate hoax. "Quiz" also has been associated with apparently deliberate false etymology. All these words and many more have remained in common usage, but they may well have been ghost words in origin.
Distinguished from back-formation.
A recent, incorrect use of the term "ghost word" refers to coining a new word implied logically from a real word, often etymologically incorrectly. The correct term for such a derivation is back-formation, a word that has been established since the late 19th century. An example is "beforemath" which is derived from "aftermath". A back-formation cannot become a ghost word; as a rule it would clash with Skeat's precise definition, which requires that the word forms have "no meaning".