Revenant

Revenant is a noun that refers to a person who has returned as a ghost. The French verb revenir (rev en EAR) translates to ‘coming back.’ Our word of the day evolved from this word and entered the English language in the early 19th century as reference to a person who has come back from the dead. While spending the weekend at the cabin, our kids swore there was a revenant outside the back door. It turned out what they thought was a ghost was really just a raccoon picking at the garbage can.