n.
Variant: also fan · tasm
Pronunciation: ' fan- ˌ ta-z ə m
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English fantasme, from Anglo-French fantosme, fantasme, from Latin phantasma, from Greek, from phantazein to present to the mind ― more at FANCY
Date: 13th century
1 : a product of fantasy: as a : delusive appearance : ILLUSION b : GHOST , SPECTER c : a figment of the imagination
2 : a mental representation of a real object
– phan · tas · mal \ fan- ' taz-m ə l \ adjective
– phan · tas · mic \ -mik \ adjective