the fancy,Archaic. people deeply interested in a sport, art, etc.
adjective,fan·ci·er,fan·ci·est.
made, designed, grown, adapted, etc., to please the taste or fancy; of superfine quality or exceptional appeal: fancy goods; fancy fruits.
ornamental; decorative; not plain: a cake with a fancy icing.
depending on imagination or caprice; whimsical; irregular: a fancy conception of time.
bred to develop points of beauty or excellence, as an animal.
much too costly; exorbitant or extravagant: a consultant who charges fancy fees.
verb (used with object),fan·cied,fan·cy·ing.
to form a conception of; picture to oneself: Fancy living with that egotist all your life!
to believe without being absolutely sure or certain: I fancy you are my new neighbor.
to take a liking to; like.
to breed to develop a special type of animal.
interjection
(used as an exclamation of mild surprise): They invited you, too? Fancy!
Verb Phrases
fancy up, to make superficially showy by way of improvement: an old car fancied up with a bright new paint job.
Origin of fancy
1350–1400;Middle Englishfan(t)sy, syncopated variant of fantasiefantasy
Related formsfan·ci·ness, nounun·fan·cy, adjective
Synonyms for fancy
2. Fancy,fantasy,imagination refer to qualities in literature or other artistic composition. The creations of fancy are casual, whimsical, and often amusing, being at once less profound and less moving or inspiring than those of imagination: letting one's fancy play freely on a subject; an impish fancy.Fantasy now usually suggests an unrestrained or extravagant fancy, often resulting in caprice: The use of fantasy in art creates interesting results. The term and concept of creative imagination are less than two hundred years old; previously only the reproductive aspect had been recognized, hardly to be distinguished from memory. “Creative imagination” suggests that the memories of actual sights and experiences may so blend in the mind of the writer or artist as to produce something that has never existed before—often a hitherto unperceived vision of reality: to use imagination in portraying character and action.3. thought, notion, impression, idea; phantasm. 5. quirk, humor, crotchet. 11. fine, elegant, choice. 12. decorated, ornate. 16. envision, conceive, imagine.
not plain; ornamented or decorativea fancy cake; fancy clothes
requiring skill to perform; intricatea fancy dance routine
arising in the imagination; capricious or illusory
(often used ironically) superior in quality or impressivea fancy course in business administration
higher than expectedfancy prices
(of a domestic animal) bred for particular qualities
nounplural-cies
a sudden capricious idea; whim
a sudden or irrational liking for a person or thing
the power to conceive and represent decorative and novel imagery, esp in poetry. Fancy was held by Coleridge to be more casual and superficial than imaginationSee imagination (def. 4)
an idea or thing produced by this
a mental image
taste or judgment, as in art of dress
Also called: fantasy, fantasiamusica composition for solo lute, keyboard, etc, current during the 16th and 17th centuries
the fancyarchaicthose who follow a particular sport, esp prize fighting
verb-cies, -cyingor-cied(tr)
to picture in the imagination
to suppose; imagineI fancy it will rain
(often used with a negative)to likeI don't fancy your chances!
(reflexive)to have a high or ill-founded opinion of oneselfhe fancied himself as a doctor
informalto have a wish for; desireshe fancied some chocolate
Britishinformalto be physically attracted to (another person)
to breed (animals) for particular characteristics
interjection
Also: fancy that!an exclamation of surprise or disbelief
mid-15c., contraction of fantasy, it took the older and longer word's sense of "inclination, whim, desire." Meaning "fans of an amusement or sport, collectively" is attested by 1735, especially (though not originally) of the prize ring. The adjective is recorded from mid-18c.
fancy
v.
"take a liking to," 1540s, a contraction of fantasien "to fantasize (about)," from fantasy (n.). Meaning "to imagine" is from 1550s. Related: Fancied; fancies; fancying. Colloquial use in fancy that, etc. is recorded by 1813.
