Evoking a feeling of sadness, mystery, or unease that lingers in memory; beautifully melancholic or eerily memorable. Can also refer to ghostly presence.
From Old French 'hanter' meaning 'to frequent' or 'to practice regularly,' originally with no supernatural connotations. The ghostly meaning developed in Middle English, while the emotional sense of 'lingering in memory' emerged in the 18th century as a metaphorical extension.
The word 'haunt' originally just meant 'to hang around frequently' - like how we might say someone 'haunts' a coffee shop today! The spooky ghost meaning came later, but both senses share the idea of persistent presence, whether physical or emotional.
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