fan.ˈtā]zhə, faan- also ]z(h)ēə sometimes fän- or fȧn- or fən- or -tä] or -tȧ] or -ta(i)]; ˌfantəˈzēə, ˌfaan-, ˌfän-, ˌfȧn-, -teˈsēə noun
also fan·ta·sie |fäntə|zē, |fan-, |faan-, |fȧn- or like fantasy \
( -s )
Etymology: Italian fantasia, literally, fancy, from Late Latin phantasia imagination, from Latin, mental image — more at fancy
1.
a. : an instrumental composition of the 16th and 17th centuries written in contrapuntal style and akin to the motet
b. : a free instrumental composition not in strict form (as the development section of sonata form)
c. : free fantasia
d. : a composition based generally on one theme
fantasia on spring
e. : a potpourri of operatic arias or familiar airs
fantasia on Christmas carols — Ralph Vaughan Williams
2. : a work (as a poem or play) in which the author's fancy roves unrestricted by set form or verisimilitude
3. : something strange or foreign by reason of grotesque, bizarre, or seemingly unreal qualities
psychologists like to dismiss myths as mere fantasia — Robert Graves
the jungle's boggy fantasia — Time
4. : an Arab performance featuring dancing and often evolutions on horseback, gun firing, and shouting all in a rapid rhythm