Fantasy

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈfæntÉ™si/, /ˈfæntÉ™zi/
• US IPA: /ˈfæn(t)É™si/

Alternative forms

• phantasie
• phantasy chiefly dated

Origin

From Old French fantasie ("fantasy"), from Latin phantasia ("imagination"), from Ancient Greek φαντασία (phantasia, "apparition"), from φαντάζω (phantazō, "to show at the eye or the mind"), from φαίνω (phainō, "to show in light"), from the same root as ϕῶς (phôs, "light").

Full definition of fantasy

Noun

1. That which comes from one's imagination.
• ShakespeareIs not this something more than fantasy ?
• MiltonA thousand fantasies begin to throng into my memory.
2. (literature) The literary genre generally dealing with themes of magic and fictive medieval technology.
3. A fantastical design.
• HawthorneEmbroidered with fantasies and flourishes of gold thread.
4. (slang) The drug gamma-hydroxybutyric acid.

Related terms

• fantasize

Derived terms

• high fantasy

Verb

1. (literary) To fantasize (about)
2. (obsolete) To have a fancy for; to be pleased with; to like.
• Robynson (More's Utopia)Which he doth most fantasy.