poltergeist: [19] A poltergeist is literally a ‘noisy ghost’. The word was borrowed from German in the 19th century, where it is a compound made up of poltern ‘make a noise, rattle or rumble’ and geist ‘spirit, ghost’ (a relative of English ghost).
poltergeist (n.)
1838, from German Poltergeist, literally "noisy ghost," from poltern "make noise, rattle" (from PIE root *bhel- (4) "to sound, ring, roar;" source of bellow, bell) + Geist "ghost" (see ghost). In the native idiom of Northern England, such phenomenon likely would be credited to a boggart.
