Etymologically
Log in

phantasia

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:58. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [pʰanˈta.si.a][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [fanˈtaː.s̬i.a][1]

Forms

phantasia f (genitive phantasiae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek φαντασία (phantasía, “appearance, imagination”), from φαντάζεσθαι (phantázesthai, “to appear”).[2][1][3][4] Old manuscripts also have the spelling ⟨fantasia⟩.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis and Short and Gaffiot cite Seneca the Elder's Suasoriae for an idea or notion, and call it post-Augustan.[6][7] Köbler's first source is Cicero, whom he dates 81–43 BC.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant an imagined situation, a fancy, an idea or notion, as Seneca the Elder's remark that Nicetas handled hanc phantasiam more eloquently.[2][6] Petronius uses phantasia, nōn homō “a phantom, not a man” as a term of reproach, and Ammianus of a vision or dream.[7][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a delusion, fancy, illusion, image, and the Vulgate's Ecclesiasticus speaks of the heart suffering phantasiās.[8][6] Medieval Latin used it of a mental image, the faculty of imagination, a vision or nightmare, and a phantasm.[9] Old French fantaisie gave English fantasy in the early 14th century, and Italian fantasia gave the musical English fantasia in 1724.[4]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero has the word, according to Köbler.[3]
  • Early Empire – Seneca the Elder uses it of a notion.[6][7]
  • before 66 AD – Petronius uses it of a phantom.[7][3]
  • c. 390 AD – Ammianus uses it of a vision.[7][3]
  • early 14th century – English fantasy is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An imagined situation, a fancy, notion.[2][6]
  2. A phantom.[7]
  3. A vision, dream.[7]
  4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A delusion, illusion.[8]
  5. (Medieval Latin) The faculty of imagination.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill