Fantasy: From a Greek Word for How Things Appear
A fantasy is something imagined rather than real. The word names a literary genre, a daydream, and a way of playing sport on paper.
A fantasy is an imagined scene or a story of impossible things. Its Greek ancestor *phantasia* meant appearance or imagination, and the same root gives us *phantom* — a fantasy is what appears to the mind rather than to the eye.
- Something imagined and pleasant. *A childhood fantasy.*
- A genre of fiction with magic. *She writes fantasy.*
- Fantasy sport — a game played with real players' statistics. *Fantasy football.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | fantasy | A wild fantasy. |
| Plural | fantasies | Private fantasies. |
| Adjective | fantastic | Fantastic creatures. |
| Verb | fantasise / fantasize | He fantasised about it. |
| Related | fantastical | A fantastical plot. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The plan is pure fantasy.Meaning unworkable.
- Fantasy and science fiction share a shelf but not a method.The genre sense.
- He runs three fantasy football teams.A modern compound.
Fantasy, fiction and myth
- Fantasy — invented worlds where the impossible is allowed
- Science fiction — invented worlds explained by technology
- Myth — a traditional story explaining the world
- Legend — a story with a historical seed
- Fable — a short story with animals and a moral
From Old French *fantasie*, from Latin *phantasia*, from Greek *phantasia*, appearance or imagination, from *phainein*, to show. *Fancy* is the same word, worn down over centuries of English use.
Are *fancy* and *fantasy* related?
Yes. Fancy is a contracted form of fantasy, which is why it can still mean imagination as well as liking something.
Fantastic or fantastical?
Fantastic now usually means excellent. Fantastical keeps the older meaning of strange and imaginary.