fancy English · revision 5783

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=clipping|attested=1462–65}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈfæn.si/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a contraction of [[fantasy]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) Middle English fantsy, fansey, from fantasie,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) which is [[bor|frm|fantasie]], from [[la-lat|phantasia|t=imagination]], from Greek phantasía “appearance, image”.^(MWU 2024) The verb is a contraction of Middle English fantasien “to fantasize”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An inclination or liking: 1462–65 in the Paston Letters in Barnhart, the mid-15th century in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) An arbitrary notion is from 1471 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Fancy and fantasy gradually separated in form and sense: fancy took the meaning of liking or whim, which fantasy lost in the 17th century, while both kept the sense of imagination.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The productive imagination is from the 1580s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and a fanciful image from the 1660s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Trench noted that the distinction Wordsworth drew between fancy and imagination was a new one, not an old difference revived.^(Trench 1859) The followers of a sport or hobby, especially boxing, are ''the fancy'' by 1735.^(Etymonline) The adjective, fine or ornamental as opposed to plain, is from before 1751,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and ''fancy dress'' from 1770, while ''fancy-free'' is in Shakespeare's ''Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1590).^(Barnhart 1988) ''Fancy man'', a lover, is attested by 1811.^(Etymonline) The verb, to take a liking to, was revived in the 1540s, to imagine from the 1550s, and ''fancy that!'' is recorded by 1813.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1462–65 – a liking.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1540s – the verb, to like.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1580s – imagination.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590 – ''fancy-free''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1735 – the fancy, followers of a sport.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1751 – the adjective, ornamental.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1770 – ''fancy dress''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Elaborate or decorated rather than plain.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Expensive or of high quality, sometimes said ironically: ''a fancy restaurant''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Needing skill; intricate.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A liking or desire, especially a passing one: ''she took a fancy to it''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # [[imagination|alt=Imagination]], especially of a playful kind; something imagined.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[whim]].^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(chiefly British, informal)'' To want or like; to be attracted to.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To imagine or suppose: ''fancy meeting you here''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[fancily]]

+ * [[fanciness]]

+ * [[fanciful]]

+ * [[fancy-free]]

+ * [[fancify]]

+ * [[fancy-pants]]

+ * [[fancywork]]

+ * [[unfancy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fantasy]]

+ * [[fantastic]]

+ * [[phantom]]

+ * [[fancier]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Yorkshire, Midland and Norfolk dialect a fancy, or fancy man or woman, is an illicit lover.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}