/ˈfæn.si/
OriginFrom Middle English fansy, fantsy, a contraction of fantasy, fantasye, fantasie, from Old French fantasie, from Medieval Latin fantasia, from Late Latin phantasia (“an idea, notion, fancy, phantasm”), from Ancient Greek φαντασία (phantasía), from φαντάζω (phantázō, “to render visible”), from φαντός (phantós, “visible”), from φαίνω (phaínō, “to make visible”); from the same root as φάος (pháos, “light”); ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂nyéti, from the root *bʰeh₂- (“to shine”). Doublet of fantasia, fantasy, phantasia, and phantasy.
- The imagination.
“[…] But know that in the soul / Are many lesser faculties, that serve / Reason as chief; among these Fancy next / Her office holds […]”
“In the Spring a livelier iris changes on the burnish’d dove; / In the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.”
“Rustic females who habitually chew even pitch or spruce-gum are rendered thereby so repulsive that the fancy refuses to pursue the horror farther and imagine it tobacco […]”
- An image or representation of anything formed in the mind.
“How now, my lord! why do you keep alone, / Of sorriest fancies your companions making, / Using those thoughts which should indeed have died / With them they think on?”
“Her timbers were olden dreams dreamed long ago, and poets’ fancies made her tall, straight masts, and her rigging was wrought out of the people’s hopes.”
- An opinion or notion formed without much reflection.
“When you have well viewed the Scenes and Devillish shapes of this Practicall Metamorphosis, and scan’d them in your serious thoughts, you will wonder at their audacious phant’sies, who seeme to hold S”
“I have always had a Fancy, that Learning might be made a Play and Recreation to Children […]”
“I dare say I am merely a foolish woman with a young girl's fancies.”
- A whim.
“I had a fancy to learn to play the flute.”
- Love or amorous attachment.
“And they’ve taken a fancy to me, Aunt said. Kitto and the others. That means they like me.”
“He took a fancy to her.”
- The object of inclination or liking.
“For you, fair Hermia, look you arm yourself / To fit your fancies to your father’s will;”
- Any sport or hobby pursued by a group.
“Trainspotting is the fancy of a special lot.”
“the cat fancy”
- The enthusiasts of such a pursuit.
“He fell out of favor with the boxing fancy after the incident.”
“[…] at a great book sale in London, which had congregated all the Fancy, on a copy occurring, not one of the company but ourself knew what the mystical title-page meant.”
- A diamond with a distinctive colour.
- That which pleases or entertains the taste or caprice without much use or value.
“18th century, John Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving Land, cited in Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language, 1755,
London-pride is a pretty fancy”
- A bite-sized sponge cake, with a layer of cream, covered in icing.
“a French fancy; a fondant fancy; cream fancies”
- obsoleteA sort of love song or light impromptu ballad.
“[He] ſung thoſe tunes to the ouer-ſchutcht huſwiues, that he heard the Car-men whiſtle, and ſware they were his fancies or his good-nights, […]”
- In the game of jacks, a style of play involving additional actions (contrasted with plainsies).
“When you have mastered plainsies, the regular jack game, and have learned all the rules, you will be ready to use this part of the book. A fancy is a variation of plainsies which usually requires more”
“When you get good at jacks, try adding a fancy. A fancy is an extra round at the end of a game. It makes the game a little harder. Jack Be Nimble, Around the World, or Black Widow are some fancies.”
- in-compounds, obsolete, slangA colored neckerchief worn at prizefights to show support for a contender.
“the yellow fancy; the cream fancy; the blood-red fancy”
- Decorative, or featuring decorations, especially intricate or diverse ones.
- Of a superior grade.
“This box contains bottles of the fancy grade of jelly.”
- Executed with skill.
“He initiated the game-winning play with a fancy deked saucer pass to the winger.”
- colloquialUnnecessarily complicated.
“I'm not keen on him and his fancy ideas.”
- obsoleteExtravagant; above real value.
“This anxiety never degenerated into a monomania, like that which led his [Frederick the Great's] father to pay fancy prices for giants.”
- nonstandard, not-comparableIn a fancy manner; fancily.
“I igonored it, hurdling her navel, riding her torso and taking both her breasts in my hands and mashing them none too fancy.”
- formalTo appreciate without jealousy or greed.
“I fancy your new car, but I like my old one just fine.”
- BritishWould like; have a desire for.
“I fancy a burger tonight for dinner.”
“Do you fancy going to town this weekend?”
- British, informalTo be sexually, aesthetically or romantically attracted to.
“I fancy that girl over there.”
“How can you fancie one that lookes so fierce, / Onely diſpoſed to martiall Stratagems? / UUho when he ſhal embrace you in his arms / UUil tell how many thouſand men he ſlew.”
““Hanna’s different,” I said.
”Oh yes, isn’t she?” she said scornfully. “Because you fancy her. Well, you’re not likely to impress her talking that way.”
- datedTo imagine, suppose.
“[dated] I fancy you'll want something to drink after your long journey.”
“I fancy this is an error.”
“Fancy meeting you here!”
- To form a conception of; to portray in the mind.
“he whom I fancy, but can ne'er express”
“It was such a scene of confusion as you can hardly fancy. All the lockfast places had been broken open in quest of the chart.”
- To have a fancy for; to like; to be pleased with, particularly on account of external appearance or manners.
“We fancy not the cardinal.”
- transitiveTo breed (animals) as a hobby.
“I would recommend this little book very highly to anyone who fancies pigeons, novices and veterans alike.”
- A surname from Old English
Formsfancies(plural) · fancie(alternative, obsolete) · fansie(alternative, obsolete) · fant’sy(alternative, obsolete) · phancie(alternative, obsolete) · phancy(alternative, obsolete) · phansie(alternative, obsolete) · phansy(alternative, obsolete) · phant’sy(alternative, obsolete) · fancier(comparative) · fanciest(superlative) · fancies(present, singular, third-person) · fancying(participle, present) · fancied(participle, past) · fancied(past) · Fancies(plural) · Fancys(plural) · Yancy(alternative) · Yancey(alternative) · Yantcy(alternative)