Noun inherited from Middle English fantasie, from Old French fantasie, from Latin phantasia, from Ancient Greek φαντασία, from φαντάζω ("to render visible"), from φαντός ("visible"), from φαίνω ("to make visible"); from the same root as φάος ("light"); ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂nyéti, from the root *bʰeh₂- ("to shine").

Verb from Middle English fantasien, from Old French fantasier.

• IPA: /ˈfæntəsi/, /ˈfæntəzi/

fantasy

1. That which comes from one's imagination.
   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC ↗:

     The whole position was so tremendous and so absolutely unearthly, that I believe it actually lulled our sense of terror, but to this hour I often see it in my dreams, and at its mere phantasy wake up covered with cold sweat.

2. (literature) The literary genre generally dealing with themes of magic and the supernatural, imaginary worlds and creatures, etc.
3. A fantastical design.
4. (slang) The drug gamma-hydroxybutyric acid.

• fantasize

• French: fantaisie, imaginaire, fantasme
• German: Fantasie, Phantasie
• Italian: fantasia
• Portuguese: fantasia
• Russian: фанта́зия
• Spanish: fantasía

• French: fantaisie, fantasy
• German: Fantasy, Fantastik, Phantastik
• Italian: fantasy
• Portuguese: fantasia
• Russian: фанта́стика

fantasy (fantasies, present participle fantasying; simple past and past participle fantasied)

1. (transitive)
   1. To conceive (something) mentally; to imagine.
   2. (literary, psychoanalysis) To fantasize about something).
2. (intransitive)
   1. To conceive mentally; to imagine.
      • 1569, Richard Grafton, “Richarde the Thirde”, in A Chronicle at Large and Meere History of the Affayres of Englande […], volume II, London: […] Henry Denham, […], for Richarde Tottle and Humffrey Toye, →OCLC ↗, page 816 ↗:

        Firſt I phantaſied that if I liſt to take vpon me the crowne and imperiall Scepter of the realme, now was the time propice and conuenient.

   2. (obsolete) To have a fancy for; to be pleased with; to like.
      • 1551, Thomas More, “(please specify the Internet Archive page)”, in Raphe Robynson [i.e., Ralph Robinson], transl., A Fruteful, and Pleasaunt Worke of the Best State of a Publyque Weale, and of the Newe Yle Called Utopia: […], London: […] [Steven Mierdman for] Abraham Vele, […], →OCLC ↗:

        Which he doth most fantasy.

      • 1641, George Cavendish, Thomas Wolsey, Late Cardinall, his Lyffe and Deathe:

        The kyng fantasied so much his daughter Anne that almost everything began to grow out of frame and good order