Added 9 October 2026
fancy
/ˈfæn.si/ noun
In Latin: opiparus Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about fancy at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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Something many people believe that is false.
they have the illusion that I am very wealthy
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Imagination or fantasy; held by Coleridge to be more casual and superficial than true imagination.
never had the wildest flights of fancy imagined such magnificence
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A predisposition to like something.
he had a fondness for whiskey
verb
adjective
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Not plain; decorative or ornamented.
fancy handwriting
Origin
From 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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)