FANCY

I. transitive verb (fancied; ~ing) Date: 14th century to have a ~ for ; like , to form a conception of ; imagine , 3. to believe mistakenly or without evidence, to believe without being certain , to visualize or interpret as , see: think II. noun (plural fancies) Etymology: Middle English fantasie, fantsy imagination, image, illusion, preference, from Anglo-French fantasie illusion, from Latin phantasia, from Greek, appearance, imagination, from phantazein to present to the mind (middle voice, to imagine), from phainein to show; akin to Old English gebōned polished, Greek phōs light Date: 15th century 1. a liking formed by caprice rather than reason ; inclination , amorous fondness ; love , 2. notion , whim , an image or representation of something formed in the mind, fantastic quality or state, 4. imagination especially of a capricious or delusive sort, the power of conception and representation used in artistic expression (as by a poet), taste , judgment , 6. devotees of some particular art, practice, or amusement, the object of interest of such a ~, III. adjective (fancier; -est) Date: 1646 dependent or based on ~ ; whimsical , 2. a. not plain ; ornamental , swanky 2, posh , b. of particular excellence or highest grade , impressive , bred especially for bizarre or ornamental qualities that lack practical utility, based on conceptions of the ~ , 4. dealing in ~ goods, extravagant , executed with technical skill and style , parti-color , fancily adverb fanciness noun