Fantasy — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Origin & Etymology of Fantasy

Middle English fantasie, fantsy, fansey "the imagination as a faculty, mental image produced by this faculty, deluded notion, figment of the imagination, preference directed by caprice rather than reason, liking," borrowed from Anglo-French fantasie "imagination as a faculty, figment of the imagination, dizziness," borrowed from Late Latin phantasia "imagination as a faculty, mental image of something perceived physically, image evoked by a poet or orator, a thing imagined by someone sleeping or ill, delusion," going back to Latin, "imagined situation or experience," borrowed from Greek phantasía "appearance, presentation to consciousness (whether immediate or in memory), image, imagination as a faculty, imagery," noun derivative corresponding to phantázein "to make visible, present to the eye or mind, (middle voice) place before one's mind, picture to oneself, imagine," causative verb from phantós "visible," verbal adjective of phaínō, phaínein (active voice) "to bring to light, cause to appear," and phaínomai, phaínesthai (middle voice) "to become visible, come to light, appear," going back to *phan-i̯e/o-, thematized from Indo-European *bh-né-h2-/bh-n̥-h2- (whence also Armenian banam "(I) open, reveal"), nasal present from *bheh2- "shine, give light, appear," whence Sanskrit bhā́ti "(it) shines, beams," Avestan fra-uuāiti "(it) beams forth"; the verb is allied to nominal derivatives in -n-, as Germanic *bōnjan- (whence Old English bōn "ornament," gebōned "ornamented," Middle Dutch boenen "to scrub, polish"), Old Irish bán "white, fair, bright," Tocharian B peñiyo "splendor," Sanskrit bhānú- "light, beam, brilliance, appearance," Avestan bānu- "beam of light"

First known use: 14th century