Reverie

Pronunciation

• enPR: rĕʹvÉ™-rÄ“, IPA: /ˈɹɛvəɹi/

Alternative forms

• revery

Origin

From Old French reverie ("revelry"), from resver ("to dream, to rave"), of uncertain origin. Compare rave.

Attested as “caper, frolic,” from 14thC; as “daydreaming” from 1657.

Full definition of reverie

Noun

1. (archaic) A caper, a frolic; merriment. From 14thC.
2. A state of dreaming while awake; a loose or irregular train of thought; musing or meditation; daydream. From 1657.
• 1847, Alfred Tennyson, The Princess, Canto VII, lines 107-108we sat
  But spoke not, rapt in nameless reverie, ...
• 1913, w, Lord Stranleigh Abroad Chapter 3, He fell into a reverie, a most dangerous state of mind for a chauffeur, since a fall into reverie on the part of a driver may mean a fall into a ravine on the part of the machine.
• 2012, June 3, Nathan Rabin, TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Mr. Plow” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 11/19/1992), Even the blithely unselfconscious Homer is more than a little freaked out by West’s private reverie, and encourages his spawn to move slowly away without making eye contact with the crazy man.
3. An extravagant conceit of the imagination; a vision.
• unknown date Joseph AddisonIf the minds of men were laid open, we should see but little difference between that of the wise man and that of the fool; there are infinite reveries and numberless extravagancies pass through both.

Synonyms

• (state of dreaming while awake) air castle, castle in Spain, castle in the air, daydream, daydreaming, oneirism