fantezie

Forms

fantezie f (plural fantezii)^[1]

Etymology

The modern form is borrowed from French fantaisie.^[2][3][4][1] It replaced older forms taken directly from Greek: Ciorănescu traces the word to Greek through French, and before that, from the 17th century, straight from Modern Greek φαντασία (fantasía), following Gáldi.^[5] Tiktin names French and Modern Greek, and DA says the word came from Greek from the 18th to the middle of the 19th century, with the forms fantazie and fandasie.^[6][7] Marcu also names Latin and Greek as sources.^[8] The word also reached Aromanian, as Aromanian făndăsie.^[5]

The French word is a respelling of about 1450 of Old French fantasie (c. 1200), from Latin phantasia (“image, idea”), which is from Ancient Greek φαντασία (phantasía, “appearance; imagination”), of the family of φαίνω (phaínō, “to show; to appear”).^[9][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is from a print of 1683.^[6] In Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică fantazie is the mind's faculty of forming images, with “memory” working beside it.^[7][3][6]

Semantic evolution

Besides “imagination”, 18th-century Moldavian used the word for a show of pomp: Neculce tells how a prince leaving his court „arătă fantazie” with shawms, trumpets and drums.^[6][7] DA explains this sense as a military display, and MDA2 keeps it as an old sense, a parade.^[7][3] The religious texts of the 18th century wrote fandasie for vain imaginings.^[7]

In the 19th century fantazie was the poets' word, as in Eminescu's „Fantazie, fantazie”, and it also named a whim and a free piece of music.^[7] The French-shaped fantezie then spread and became the standard form.^[7][2] In the slang of the town quarters fandaxie came to mean “mania, crankiness”, as in Caragiale.^[5][7]

Timeline

• 1683 – the first record cited by Tiktin.^[6]
• 1698 – fantasie in an October Menaion.^[6]
• 18th century – fantazie “a show of pomp” in Neculce's chronicle.^[6][7]
• 1776 – fandasie in a Menaion.^[7]
• 19th century – fandasie in Anton Pann, fantazie in Eminescu and Maiorescu.^[6][7]

Meanings

Noun

1. imagination: the human ability to form new images and ideas from earlier perceptions; an image so formed, a reverie; the creative imagination of an artist or scientist; a product of the imagination, a fabrication.^[2][3]
2. An unusual or odd wish; a whim, caprice.^[2][3]
3. (music) A fantasia: a free-form instrumental piece with improvisation and virtuosity.^[2][3]
4. (obsolete) A military parade or display.^[3][7]

Related words

• fantastic
• fantasmă
• fantomă
• fandosi

Usage notes

De fantezie describes something made to please the imagination rather than for use: articole de fantezie are fancy goods.^[7][3] The variants fantazie and fantasie are rare today.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 381
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 876
4. ^ Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1958), Dicționarul limbii romîne moderne, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne
5. ^ a b c Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. fantazie
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. fantezie
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Academia Română (1913–1949), Dicționarul limbii române (DA), ed. Sextil Pușcariu, tom I (A–B, C, D–De) and tom II (F–I, J–Lojniță), București: Socec / Universul / Monitorul Oficial și Imprimeriile Statului; page scans at cflr-scans.solirom.ro, p. s.v. fantazie
8. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. fantezie
9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. fantaisie