Meanings
nounknocking spirit (plural knocking spirits)
plural knocking spirits
- GermanartsA poltergeist.
When he was asked if he knew the Kobolds and Knocking-Spirits (Polter Geister), he answered, "What have these to do with me? They are the Devil's spectres, and I do not belong to them."
1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume II, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 52
Origin
- GermanPoltergeist
- Englishknocking spirit
Calque of German Poltergeist.
More words from German
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
knocking spirit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knocking%20spirit
MLA
“knocking spirit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knocking%20spirit. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “knocking spirit,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knocking%20spirit.
Source: knocking spirit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.