doppelgänger

noun

dop·​pel·​gäng·​er ˈdä-pəl-ˌgaŋ-ər 

-ˌgeŋ-,

ˌdä-pəl-ˈgaŋ-,

-ˈgeŋ-

variants or doppelganger

1

a

: double sense 2a

said she had seen his doppelgänger

b

: alter ego sense 1b

c

: a person who has the same name as another

2

: a ghostly counterpart (see counterpart sense 3a) of a living person

Did you know?

According to German folklore, all living creatures have an identical, but invisible, spirit double. These second selves are distinct from ghosts, which appear only after death, and are sometimes described as the spiritual opposite or negative of their living counterparts. English speakers borrowed both the concept of the doppelgänger and the German word for it (from doppel-, meaning “double,” and -gänger, meaning “goer”) in the mid-1800s, but today the English word typically has a more quotidian use, referring simply to a living person who closely resembles another living person.

Synonyms

• twin
• image
• picture
• portrait
• counterpart

Examples of doppelgänger in a Sentence

In the story, the character is haunted by a doppelgänger.

at the mall today I saw someone who could be your doppelgänger

Word History

Etymology

German Doppelgänger, from doppel- double + -gänger goer

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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