Archaic or dialectal spelling variant of 'ghastly'; causing horror, shock, or extreme unpleasantness.
Variant spelling from Middle English period, from 'gast' (to frighten) + '-ly' (adjective-forming suffix). Shows how 'gh' spelling was added over time to many words.
Medieval writers spelled this 'gastly,' but then scribes added 'gh' to words like this to look more prestigious, and the spelling stuck even though the pronunciation never changed!
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