fancyn.adj.
A. n.† 1. In scholastic psychology: = fantasy n. 1.† 2. A spectral apparition; an illusion of the senses. Cf. fantasy n. 2. Obs.† 10. ‘Something that pleases or entertains’ (Johnson).† 11. An alleged name for the pansy. Obs.attrib.1862 T. H. Huxley Lect. Working Men 105 Birds which fly long distances..and are..used as carriers are not carriers in the fancy sense.1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 249/2 The less important art of fancy breeding.1889 Sat. Rev. 22 June 772/2 A pouter graces the frontispiece, using the word ‘grace’ in the Fancy sense.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > [noun]
anyitOE
eyesightc1175
sightc1175
sentimentc1374
mindc1384
intentc1386
fantasyc1400
savoura1425
spiritsc1450
perceiverancea1500
perceiverationa1500
senses1528
perceivance1534
sense1553
kenc1560
mind-sight1587
knowledge1590
fancy1593
animadversion1596
cognition1651
awaring1674
perception1678
scan1838
apperception1848
perceivedness1871
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > psychology of perception > process of perception > [noun] > in Scholastic Psychology
fantasyc1400
fancy1593
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > psychology of perception > process of perception > [noun] > in Scholastic Psychology > faculty of
fantasyc1400
fancy1593
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 113 Þat place [þe brayn] is propre instrument of ymagynacioun þe which resceyveþ þinges þat comprehendiþ of fantasie [L. res a phantasia comprehensas].
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure xxiv. ii, These are the v. wyttes remeuing inwardly..common wytte..ymaginacyon, Fantasy, and estymacyon..And memory.]
1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie i. vi. 58 Beasts..in actions of sense and phancy goe beyond them [sc. men].
1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature v. 101 We know matters of fact by the help of..impressions made upon phansy.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > fancy or fantastic notion > deceptive fancy or illusion > [noun]
fantasyc1325
fairyc1330
illusionc1374
mazec1390
phantasma1398
dream1489
phantom1557
seeming1576
phantasma1598
fancy1609
hallucinationa1652
phantastry1656
phasm1659
fata Morgana1818
dreamland1832
stardust1906
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > optical illusion > [noun] > an optical illusion > vision or apparition
visionc1290
fantasyc1325
imagec1350
figurec1384
beholdingc1440
semblance1489
idol1563
ghost1593
fancy1609
species1639
spectrala1656
spectre1801
eidolon1828
1609 P. Holland tr. A. Marcellinus Rom. Hist. xiv. xi. 25 Dreadfull spectres and fansies skreaking hideously round about him.
1656 B. Harris tr. J. N. de Parival Hist. Iron Age i. i. v. 10 Forrests, where are sometimes heard great illusions, and phancies.
[see fantasy n. 2]. 3. Delusive imagination; hallucination; an instance of this; = fantasy n. 3.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > fancy or fantastic notion > deceptive fancy or illusion > [noun] > delusive habit or state
phantasma1250
mazec1300
fantasy1340
fancy1597
illusiveness1727
illusion1774
mythicalism1896
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie II. 732 The righteous..may have their phancies; they may..conceive worse of their own estate than reason giveth.
1693 A. Gavin Short Hist. Monastical Orders xv. 157 Phancies of a deluded mind.
1727 D. Defoe Syst. Magick i. iv. 109 The Vision appeared to his Fancy.
1841 Dickens Barnaby Rudge i. 239 That may be my fancy.
1856 A. P. Stanley Sinai & Palestine (1858) ii. 156 Which..claims to be founded not on fancy..but on Fact.
4.
a. In early use synonymous with imagination n. (see fantasy n. 4); the process, and the faculty, of forming mental representations of things not present to the senses; chiefly applied to the so-called creative or productive imagination, which frames images of objects, events, or conditions that have not occurred in actual experience. In later use the words fancy and imagination (esp. as denoting attributes manifested in poetical or literary composition) are commonly distinguished: fancy being used to express aptitude for the invention of illustrative or decorative imagery, while imagination is the power of giving to ideal creations the inner consistency of realities. Often personified.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > [noun]
sightc1175
thoughtc1175
imagination1340
thinking1340
conceptiona1387
imaginativea1398
phantasm1490
concept1536
fetch1549
conceit1556
conceiving1559
fancy1581
notion1647
fantastic1764
ideality1815
ideoplasty1884
phantastikon1917
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > [noun] > act of imagining
imagination1340
conceptiona1387
imaginingc1430
suppositiona1529
conceiving1559
picturing1562
conceiting1563
fancy1581
forgery1582
surmise1592
imagery1595
imaging1648
ideation1818
envisagement1877
visualizing1880
envisaging1883
visualization1883
envisioning1938
projecting1960
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > fancy or fantastic notion > [noun] > indulgence in
imaginationa1393
dreaminga1400
fantasying1552
fantasy1553
fancy1581
think-so1666
ideology1813
fantasticating1880
fantastication-
1581 T. Howell Deuises (1879) 229 The flaming dartes, That Fancie quickly burne with quenchlesse fyre.
1645 Milton L'Allegro in Poems 36 Sweetest Shakespear fancies childe.
1662 J. Glanvill Lux Orient. Pref. 5 What..dangerous opinions soever their phancies might give birth to.
1675 T. Hobbes in tr. Homer Odysses To Rdr. sig. B3v, In Fancie consisteth the Sublimity of a Poet.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 411. ¶2 The Pleasures of the Imagination or Fancy (which I shall use promiscuously).
1713 Countess of Winchilsea Misc. Poems 217 Wand'ring Wishes, born on Phancy's Wings.
1785 T. Reid Ess. Intellect. Powers 374 Fancy may combine things that never were combined in reality.
1811 S. T. Coleridge Lect. (1856) 45 When the whole pleasure received is derived from an unexpected turn of expression, then I call it wit; but when the pleasure is produced..by an image which remains with us..I call it fancy.
1822 W. Hazlitt Table-talk II. x. 221 Fancy colours the prospect of the future.
1845 L. Hunt Imagination & Fancy 2 Poetry..embodies and illustrates its impressions by imagination, or images of the objects of which it treats..It illustrates them by fancy, which is a lighter play of imagination, or the feeling of analogy coming short of seriousness.
1846 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters II. 159 The fancy sees the outside... The imagination sees the heart and inner nature, and makes them felt.
1861 M. Pattison in Westm. Rev. 19 409 That ocean-horse..in which the poetic fancy of the sea-roving Saxons saw an emblem of their high-prowed vessels.
b. A mental image.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > mental image, idea, or fancy > [noun]
huea1000
imagination1340
imagea1393
portraiturea1393
trowc1460
fume1531
imaginary1594
phantasm1594
trajection1594
representationa1602
idolum1619
object1651
tablature1661
fancy1663
representamen1677
phantom1686
presentment1817
fantasy1823
projection1836
visuality1841
thought-picture1844
imago1863
vestige1885
1663 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim 257 The very fancy of them [enjoyments] is delightful.
1798 S. T. Coleridge France in Fears & Solitude 13 Oft, pursuing fancies holy, My moonlight way o'er flow'ring weeds I wound.
5. † b. esp. in Music, a composition in an impromptu style. Obs. Cf. fantasia n., fantasy n. 4e.† c. pl. ‘The ornamental tags, etc., appended to the ribbons by which the hose were secured to the doublet’ (Fairholt). Obs.
a. Inventive design; an invention, original device or contrivance. Cf. fantasy n. 4d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means > equipment for any action or undertaking > a device or contrivance
compassinga1300
graithc1375
jetc1380
cautelc1440
quaint?a1450
invention1546
trick1548
frame1558
fashion1562
device1570
conveyance1596
address1598
molition1598
fabric1600
machine1648
fancy1665
art1667
fanglementa1670
convenience1671
conveniency1725
contraption1825
affair1835
rig1845
1665 T. Herbert Some Years Trav. (new ed.) 223 Adorned with..fancies of Arabic Characters.
1670 J. Narborough Jrnl. in Acct. Several Late Voy. (1711) i. 57 The model I imagine is to record our Ship..This Fancy we let alone untouched.
1692 R. L'Estrange tr. Josephus Antiq. (1702) xii. ii. 322 The graving work..being the Phancy of a Foliage of the Vine.
c1710 C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 168 Severall good fancy's of human and animals.
1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling xii. 374 This fly [sc. a salmon fly] is Mr. Blackwall's own fancy.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > type of piece > [noun] > impromptu
fancy1577
voluntary1598
impromptu1880
1577 T. Dawson (title) The workes of a young wyt, trust vp with a fardell of prettie fancies.
1600 Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iii. ii. 309 + 5 He..sung those tunes to the ouer-schutcht huswiues, that he heard the Car-men whistle, and sware they were his fancies or his good-nights. View more context for this quotation
1663 S. Pepys Diary 27 May (1971) IV. 160 Mr. Gibbons being come in..to Musique; they played a good Fancy.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 848 He was..much admired for his composition of Fancies of various parts.
1789 C. Burney Gen. Hist. Music III. 408 John Jenkins, a voluminous composer of Fancies for viols.
1823 G. Crabb Universal Technol. Dict. I Fancies, lively little airs.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > stocks, shares, or bonds > [noun] > stock > types of
joint stock1615
fancya1652
water stock1675
Bank stock1694
India stock1702
government stock1734
inscription1800
gas stock1820
railway stock1836
common stock1852
floater1871
blue chip1874
trunks1892
traction1896
omnium1902
mummy1903
motors1908
rollover1947
blue-chipper1953
red chip1968
large-cap1982
small cap1984
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [noun] > other
bastard1484
handywarp1551
handwarp1552
unwater1611
fancya1652
angel skin1910
BioSteel1998
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > doublet > tags on ribbons attaching doublet to hose
fancya1652
a1652 R. Brome Mad Couple Well Match'd in Five New Playes (1653) I've a new Suite, And Ribbons fashionable, yclipt Fancies.
6. A supposition resting on no solid grounds; an arbitrary notion.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > fancy or fantastic notion > [noun]
phantoma1375
fantasyc1440
conceitc1450
fancy1471
crotchet1573
whim-wham1580
vision1592
reverie1602
whimsy1607
windmill1612
brainworm1617
maggota1625
vapour1631
flama1637
fantastic1641
idea1660
whim1697
rockstaff1729
whigmaleery1730
vagary1753
freak1785
whimsy-whamsy1807
crankum1822
whimmery1837
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > faint, imperfect idea > [noun] > unfounded
fancy1471
idea1593
conception1614
figment1624
hypothesis1625
notional1653
unding1932
1471 G. Ripley Compound of Alchymy v, in E. Ashmole Theatrum Chem. Britannicum (1652) 149 To know the truth, and fancies to eschew.
1539 R. Taverner tr. Erasmus Prouerbes (1552) 18 Menne myght loke upon it, and talke theyr fansies of it.
1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 25 Rather upon fancie, than upon anie souldiour lyke reasons.
1672 A. Marvell Rehearsal Transpros'd in Wks. II. 58 After this I had another phansie..not altogether unreasonable.
1783 Ld. Hailes Disquis. Antiq. Christian Church ii. 33 This fancy is very ancient, for Orosius hints at it.
1809–10 S. T. Coleridge Friend (1865) 142 As wild a fancy as any of which we have treated.
7. † b. Fantasticalness. Obs.
a. Caprice, changeful mood; an instance of this, a caprice, a whim. Also concr. a whimsical thing.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > capriciousness > a caprice or whim
fantasya1450
wantonness1531
humour1533
worm?a1534
will1542
toy?1545
whey-worm1548
wild worm1548
freak1563
crotchet1573
fancy1579
whim-wham1580
whirligig1589
caper1592
megrim1593
spleen1594
kicksey-winsey1599
fegary1600
humorousness1604
curiosity1605
conundrum1607
whimsy1607
windmill1612
buzza1616
capriccioa1616
quirka1616
flama1625
maggota1625
fantasticality1631
capruch1634
gimcrack1639
whimseycado1654
caprich1656
excursion1662
frisk1665
caprice1673
fita1680
grub1681
fantasque1697
whim1697
frolic1711
flight1717
whigmaleery1730
vagary1753
maddock1787
kink1803
fizgig1824
fad1834
whimmery1837
fantod1839
brain crack1853
whimsy-whamsy1871
tic1896
tick1900
1579 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 86 A foolish madd worlde, wherein all thinges ar overrulid by fansye.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica ii. iv. 82 Cardans Mausoleum for a flye, is a meere phancy.
1676 M. Lister in J. Ray Corr. (1848) 124 The addition of the French names would have been but a fancy.
1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. May (1965) I. 406 His wife, whose expences are no way limited but by her own fancy.
1787 J. Bentham Def. Usury i. 2 A fancy has taken me, just now, to trouble you with my reasons.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 46 The antipathy of the nation to their religion was not a fancy which would yield to the mandate of a prince.
1860–1 F. Nightingale Notes on Nursing 43 Such cravings are usually called the ‘fancies’ of patients.
1878 in G. P. Lathrop Masque of Poets 80, I have a fancy we go out to-day.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > absurdity, incongruity > [noun]
wantonnessc1405
absurdity1529
monstruousness1545
impertinency1573
ridiculousness1573
monstrousness1574
absurd1581
absurdness1582
incongruity1597
fancy1598
delirium1599
monstruosity1604
absurdum1606
foppishness1611
impertinence1616
nonsense1630
impertinentness1645
irrationality1647
monstrosity1651
nonsensicality1652
ridicule1668
ridicule1672
nonsensicalness1674
maggotry1706
preposterousness1727
zanyship1766
ridiculosity1773
drollness1823
stultification1832
nonsensity1834
farcicality1849
cockeyedness1858
1598 Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost i. i. 168 This childe of Fancie that Armado hight. View more context for this quotation
1604 Shakespeare Hamlet i. iii. 71 Costly thy habite as thy purse can by, But not exprest in fancy; rich not gaudy. View more context for this quotation
1823 Byron Don Juan: Canto XI xvii. 111 A real swell, Full flash, all fancy.
8. † b. spec. Amorous inclination, love. Obs.
a. Capricious or arbitrary preference; individual taste; an inclination, liking, esp. in phrases to have, take a fancy for, to; †to have no fancy with; to take, catch the fancy of.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > wish or inclination > [noun]
willeOE
hearteOE
i-willc888
self-willeOE
intent?c1225
device1303
couragec1320
talentc1325
greec1330
voluntyc1330
fantasyc1374
likinga1375
disposingc1380
pleasancea1382
affectionc1390
wish1390
disposition1393
affecta1398
likea1400
lista1400
pleasingc1400
emplesance1424
pleasurec1425
well-willingc1443
notiona1450
mindc1450
fancy1465
empleseur1473
hest?a1513
plighta1535
inclination1541
cue1567
month's mind1580
disposedness1583
leaning1587
humour1595
wouldings1613
beneplacit1643
wouldingness1645
vergency1649
bene-placiture1662
good liking1690
draught1758
tida1774
inkling1787
the mind > emotion > hatred > dislike > [verb (transitive)]
mislikea1225
to like illa1350
to have no fancy with1465
mislovec1485
abominec1500
not to look ata1529
to have no will of, (also in)1548
misaffect1586
to have or take a stitch againsta1591
dislike1593
to take (a) toy to (also at)1598
disfavour1599
disgust1601
disaffect1609
mistaste1613
disrelisha1616
dispalate1630
abominate1652
disfancy1657
to have it in for1825
to have a down on1835
to sour on1862
to go off ——1877
derry1896
the mind > will > wish or inclination > be disposed or inclined to [verb (transitive)] > be favourably inclined to
reckOE
keep1297
to list ofa1300
to have, take a fancy for, to1465
lean1530
fantasy1548
to run upon ——1550
mind1648
to run to ——1809
whim1842
the mind > emotion > love > loved one > win the affection of [verb (transitive)]
endeara1586
strike1602
attach1811
to take, catch the fancy of1849
the mind > emotion > love > liking or favourable regard > have liking for [verb (transitive)] > cause liking or favourable regard
to take, catch the fancy of1849
1465 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 322, I haue non fansey wyth soume of þe felechipp.
1541 Act 33 Hen. VIII c. 21 In case it fortune..the king..should take a fancie to anie woman.
1553 T. Wilson Arte Rhetorique (1580) 200 Speake muche, according to the nature and phansie of the ignoraunt.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iii. f. 114v, Hee that hath a fansye too breede Horse.
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. ii. 315 Each..would interpret the opinions of Mahomet according to their owne fancie.
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors 314 The Persians have a great fancy to Black hair.
1682 G. Wheler Journey into Greece i. 36 Phansie took us to see the Fortress.
1700 S. L. tr. C. Frick Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 82 The Admiral had a mighty fancy to go over.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 433 The..tune caught the fancy of the nation.
1866 G. MacDonald Ann. Quiet Neighb. (1878) xxxi. 533 What could have made Miss Crowther take such a fancy to the boy?
1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 86 Have you no fancy To ride the white steeds?
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > amorous love > [noun]
loveOE
druery?c1225
amoursc1330
paramoura1375
love-likingc1390
Cupidc1420
love amoura1500
fancy1559
passion1590
belle passion1711
romance1858
romanticalism1922
1559 W. Baldwin et al. Myrroure for Magistrates Clarence xii, Knowing fansie was the forcing rother, Which stiereth youth to any kinde of strife, He offered me his daughter to my wife.
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 24v, Philautus was..neuer loued for fancie sake.
1600 Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. ii. 63 Tell me where is fancie bred. View more context for this quotation
1712 J. Arbuthnot John Bull Still in Senses iii. 14 Fancy is free (quoth Peg).
9. Taste, critical judgement in matters of art or elegance.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > good taste > [noun]
good tastea1400
sensea1616
epicurism1655
gusto1663
fancyc1665
sapience1667
taste1671
curiositya1684
niceness1698
gust1706
sensibility1735
connoissance1736
connoisseurship1749
tapinophoby1773
theoria1846
shibui1960
c1665 L. Hutchinson Mem. Col. Hutchinson (1973) To Children 4 He was..gentile in his habitt, and had a very good fancy in making good cloths.
1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 11 Palaces..built with an excellent Fancy.
1726 Swift Cadenus & Vanessa 20 I'll undertake my little Nancy In Flounces has a better Fancy.
1748 C'tess of Shaftesbury in Priv. Lett. Ld. Malmesbury I. 72 A buff-coloured damask, trimmed with a good deal of fancy.
1857 J. Ruskin Polit. Econ. Art i. 42 [They] possess..sense of colour, and fancy for form.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > [noun] > source of amusement or entertainment
mirtha1250
solacec1290
recreationc1400
esbatement1477
pastime1490
pastancea1500
passe-temps1542
entertainment1561
relief?1578
fancy1590
sport1598
abridgement1600
entertain1601
recreative1615
amusatory1618
nutsa1625
diverter1628
recreator1629
passatempo1632
amuser1724
fun1726
dissipation1733
resource1752
distraction1859
enlivening1859
good, clean fun1867
enlivenment1883
light relief1885
laugh1921
not one's scene1962
violon d'Ingres1963
the mind > emotion > pleasure > quality of being pleasant or pleasurable > [noun] > source of pleasure
honeycombOE
sweetness?c1225
dainty1340
sweet1377
delicec1390
lust1390
pleasancec1390
pleasingc1390
well-queema1400
well-queemnessa1400
douceurc1400
delectation?a1425
pleasure1443
pleaserc1447
delectabilitiesa1500
deliciositiesa1500
honeydew1559
delicacy1586
fancy1590
sugar candy1591
regalo1622
happiness1637
deliciousness1651
complacence1667
regalea1677
sweetener1741
bon-bon1856
Bones1869
jam1871
true love1893
nuts1910
barrel of fun (laughs, etc.)1915
G-spot1983
1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 39 All such as are..not carried with toyes, fancies, and new fashions.
1696 C. Cibber Love's Last Shift iv. 72 A particular nice Fancy, that I intend to appear in.
1712 J. Mortimer Art of Husbandry: Pt. II 204 London-Pride is a pretty Fancy for borders.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > pea flowers > violet and allied flowers > allied flowers
pansyc1450
heartsease1530
pansy flower1530
three (also two) faces under (or in) a (or one) hood1548
bulbous violet1578
love-in-idleness1578
sweet violet1578
pensea1592
cull-me-to-you1597
dog's tooth violet1597
dog violet1597
kiss-me-ere-I-rise1597
live in idleness1597
wild violet1597
yellow violet1597
love-and-idle1630
love-in-idle1664
trinity1699
fancy1712
wood violet1713
marsh violet1753
tree violet1753
kiss-me-at-the-gate1787
bird's-foot violet1802
Parma violet1812
Johnny-jump-up1827
stepmother1828
Neapolitan violet1830
garden gate1842
butterfly pea1848
kissa1852
pinkany-John1854
viola1871
kiss-me1877
pink-eyed John1877
face and hood1886
roosterhead1894
trout-lily1909
1712 J. Browne tr. P. Pomet et al. Compl. Hist. Druggs I. 120 Fancy, in English, is a kind of Violet.
12. the fancy: collect. for those who ‘fancy’ a particular amusement or pursuit.attrib.1811 R. Southey Let. 6 Mar. (1856) II. 215, I am in high condition, to use a fancy phrase.
a. gen., as applied to bird-, book-fanciers, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > [noun] > one engaged in amusement or entertainment > collectively
the fancy1735
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > [noun] > bird-keeper or -breeder > bird-fancier
bird fancier1709
the fancy1735
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > [noun] > keeping or breeding pigeons > pigeon-fancier
the fancy1735
pigeon fancier?1755
columbarian1807
colombophile1890
pigeoneer1918
the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Columbidae > pigeon > one or those who fancy pigeons
bird fancier1709
the fancy1735
1735 J. Moore Columbarium 40 These Pigeons by their Flight afford an admirable Satisfaction, to those Gentlemen of the Fancy that have time to attend them.
1830 T. De Quincey Life R. Bentley in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 446 A great book sale..had congregated all the Fancy.
1889 Sat. Rev. 22 June 772/1 Pigeon-fanciers are called the Fancy.
b. esp. The prize-ring or those who frequent it.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > [noun] > follower of boxing
the fancy1807
fancy man1847
1807 R. Southey Lett. from Eng. (1951) lxxi. 451 The Amateurs of Boxing, who call themselves the Fancy.
1811 R. Southey Let. 11 Oct. (1856) II. 236, I have fibbed the ‘Edinburgh’ (as the ‘fancy’ say) most completely.
1848 Thackeray Bk. Snobs xiv. 55 Mr. William Ramm, known to the fancy as the Tutbury Pet.
1873 H. Spencer Study Sociol. (ed. 6) viii. 187 Among leaders of ‘the fancy’, it is an unhesitating belief that pluck and endurance are the highest of attributes.
c. The art of boxing; pugilism. Also, sporting in general.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > [noun]
defence1549
pugilation1656
fencing1692
boxing1693
the (noble, also manly) art of self-defence1724
noble art1749
bruising1750
ring1770
noble science1778
pugilism1788
sparring1797
the sweet science1810
the fancy1820
pugilistics1820
pugnastics1830
fista1839
scrapping1891
ring-work1899
no contest1922
1820 Byron Let. 19 Nov. (1977) VII. 233 One of Matthew's passions was ‘the fancy’.
1841 T. De Quincey Plato's Republic in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. July 50/1 When the ‘fancy’ was in favour.
1861 H. Mayhew London Labour (new ed.) III. 5/2 He is always..at home..to discuss the Fancy generally.
1889 Standard 28 Oct. Modern displays of ‘the Fancy’.
13. The art or practice of breeding animals so as to develop points of conventional beauty or excellence; also one of these points. Sometimes with qualifying word prefixed, as pigeon-fancy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > [noun] > breeding for desired quality > for points of beauty
fancy1862
fancying1876
1889 Sat. Rev. 22 June 772/2 The peculiar fancy affecting him [the carrier] is to have wattles and excrescences round his eyes and beak.
1889 Standard 23 Oct. The layman uninitiated in the mysteries of ‘fancy’.
14.
a. = various combs. of the adj. Often = fancy cake (below, C. 1).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > fancy cake
fancy1891
fancy cake1912
mignardise1931
1841 Week in Wall Street 82 A very large portion of the stocks termed ‘fancies’, are entirely worthless in themselves.
1851 Beck's Florist 140 Pelargoniums, both ‘Fancies’ and common kinds, were produced..Mr. Ambrose's Fancy..was..distinguished.
1862 Times 17 Feb. Ordinary cloths and fancies moved off alike slowly.
1891 Confectioners' Union 15 Oct. p. iii (advt.) Fondant, Jellies, Gelatine goods,..and other Fancies.
1891 Confectioners' Union 15 Nov. 633/2 The room where Christmas fancies are being packed by a small army of girls.
1894 E. Skuse Compl. Confectioner 110 There are a great number of fancies made from grain sugars, sold about Christmas time.
1968 M. Bragg Without City Wall i. xix. 191 Jars of jam being given by the ladies, a box of teacakes and fancies by Agnes.
b. = fancy roller at sense B. 2b.
ΚΠ
1864 Barraclough Specif. Patent 1581 5 The rollers c are the ‘fancies’ before named.
1873 E. Leigh Sci. Mod. Cotton Spinning I. 144 The surface of the ‘fancy’ runs in the same direction as the cylinder only a little faster.
1876 W. C. Bramwell Wool-carder (ed. 2) viii.
B. adj. [Developed from the attrib. use of the noun; scarcely occurring in predicative use.]
1.
a. Of a design varied according to the fancy; ‘fine, ornamental’, in opposition to ‘plain’; as in fancy basket, fancy cake, fancy trimming, etc. Also fancy dress n., fancy work n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > [adjective] > ornamented or decorated > ornamental or decorative
trinkery1582
ornamental1595
bedecking1598
exornatory1657
ornative1660
ornamentary1715
fancy1753
decorative1791
artistic1835
decoratory1889
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > fancy cake
fancy1891
fancy cake1912
mignardise1931
1753 H. Glasse Art of Cookery (ed. 5) App. 333 A few Astertion Flowers stuck here and there looks pretty..but Lemon, and all those Things are intirely Fancy.
1761 T. Gray Let. 22 Oct. in Corr. (1971) II. 761 They [wall papers] are all what they [the shops] call fancy.
1788 W. Marshall Rural Econ. Yorks. I. 124 The fancy farm-houses,..I purposely pass over.
1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales II. 211 He had for field duty two fancy uniforms.
a1839 H. W. Longfellow Hyperion ii. ix, A very tall man with fiery red hair and fancy whiskers.
1842 Tennyson Vision of Sin in Poems (new ed.) II. 216 Fish are we that love the mud, Rising to no fancy-flies.
1866 A. D. Whitney Leslie Goldthwaite ix, To grow intimate over tableau plans and fancy stitches.
1883 E. Ingersoll in Harper's Mag. June 78/1 ‘Fancy’ flour differs from the ordinary superfine in that the middlings are ground through smooth rollers.
1893 E. Hérissé Art of Pastry Making ii. 8 (heading) Fondant icing..for icing fancy pastry-cakes.
1893 E. Hérissé Art of Pastry Making xiii. 97 (heading) Fancy ornamental meringues. (Meringues décorées.)
1912 E. Hérissé Art of Pastry Making (new ed.) ii. 20 Dip in the fancy cakes or pastry with the point of a penknife or fork.
1960 Good Housek. Cookery Bk. (ed. 5) 387/1 Small iced fancy cakes... Cut the cake into fancy shapes before icing.
b. Printing. (see quots.)
ΚΠ
1871 Amer. Encycl. Printing 256/2 Job Letter may be conveniently divided into Plain, Fancy, Text, and Script.
1888 C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 42 Fancy rules, rules other than plain ones of various designs. Fancy types, founts of type of various kinds used for jobbing purposes.
c. Of flowers, grass, etc.: Particoloured, striped.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > appearance of plant > plant defined by colour or marking > [adjective] > having particular type marking or colouring
streaked1600
marbled1629
muscadine1646
agated1665
silver-cupped1688
red-top1705
tessellated1723
lineate1777
fancy1793
red-tipped1800
areolated1802
white-lipped1813
variegated1818
pennaceous1819
streak-flowered1822
limbate1826
unbroken1829
sanguine-heart1840
rivulose1843
pencilled1846
areolate1847
notate1857
sigillate1858
discolor1859
discolorous1860
fumose1866
fumous1866
tricolour1866
unnetted1869
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > flower or flowering plant > [noun] > characterized by colouring or marking
self1817
fancy1851
1793 G. Washington Let. in Writings (1891) XII. 378 From the fancy grass..I have been urging for years..the saving of seed.
1851 Beck's Florist 139 Mr. Ayres shewed his fancy Pelargonium.
1893 Webbs Spring Catal. 65 Webbs' Fancy Pansy.
1893 Webbs Spring Catal. 80 Perpetual fancy Carnation.
d. ellipt. That deals in, or is concerned with the sale of, fancy goods, as fancy fair, fancy shop.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > specific types of trade > [adjective] > trading in fancy goods
fancy1821
1821 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 10 4 Haberdashers and others in the fancy line.
1836 Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. I. 136 Flaming accounts of some ‘fancy fair in high life’.
1840 H. Cockton Life Valentine Vox xxv. 178 A placard..which announced that a Fancy Fair and a Fete Champetre were about to take place.
1844 J. Cowell Thirty Years among Players (1845) i. vi. 15/2 His address..was at a handsome fancy-shop in George-street.
1848 Thackeray Vanity Fair l. 441 She buys a couple of begilt Bristol boards at the Fancy Stationer's.
1863 J. C. Jeaffreson Sir Everard's Daughter 113 A chattel for which a fancy-upholsterer in London would ask a strangely large number of pounds.
1876 World 5 17 A fancy-fair is one of the diversions of a London Season.
1885 Bookseller 5 Mar. 317/2 A good Fancy Trade.
1911 A. Bennett Hilda Lessways i. iii. 24 She went straight into Dayson's little fancy shop.
e. fancy ball = fancy dress ball at fancy dress n. 1. Also fancy dance.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > dancing > ball or dance > [noun] > fancy dress
fancy ball1800
bal costumé1826
fancy dress ball1882
1800 M. Edgeworth Eton Montem iii, in Parent's Assistant (ed. 3) VI. 193 How fine we are!..one might fancy one's-self..at a fancy ball.
1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy II. 24 A grand fancy ball was to take place at the Argyle Rooms.
1827 J. Constable Let. 10 Oct. (1962) 237 To day..a Garden Promenade—and fancy dance in a temporary pavilion.
1836 N. Hawthorne Amer. Note-bks. (1883) 34 A Fancy Ball, in which the prominent American writers should appear, dressed in character.
f. fancy goods (cf. B. 1d).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > merchandise > [noun] > fancy goods
fancy goods1792
notions1796
Yankee notions1819
1792 Columbian Centinel (Boston, Mass.) 12 May A large and extensive assortment of staple and fancy goods.
?a1828 D. Wordsworth Jrnl. Tour Continent in Jrnls. (1941) II. 73 Stalls and shops of jewelry, millinery and fancy goods of all sorts.
1860 Dickens Uncommerc. Traveller in All Year Round 28 Jan. 321/1, I..have rather a large connexion in the fancy goods way.
1933 Archit. Rev. 74 16/3 A manufacturer of fancy goods and hand~bags remarks that, ‘we study the public taste while we try to originate’.
2.
a. Added for ornament or extraordinary use.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > [adjective] > ornamented or decorated > ornamental or decorative > added for ornament
fancy1794
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 169 Fancy-line is a rope used to overhaul the brails of some fore and aft sails.
1841 R. H. Dana Seaman's Man. 104 Fancy-line, a line rove through a block at the jaws of a gaff, used as a downhaul.
1874 J. T. Micklethwaite Mod. Parish Churches 77 To increase the list of fancy and solo stops [in an organ].
b. fancy roller (in a Carding-engine): see quots.
ΚΠ
1850 E. Leigh Specif. Patent 13,027 2 Thirdly in the employment of a ‘fancy roller’ for partially stripping the main cylinder, such roller being only partially clothed with card.
1873 E. Leigh Sci. Mod. Cotton Spinning I. 144 For heavy carding a fancy roller, which is a roller that overruns the periphery of the cylinder, is sometimes used with advantage..[It] lifts the cotton that would otherwise get wedged in the wire of the cylinder, and thereby admits heavy carding.
3. Calling forth or resulting from the exercise of fancy or caprice.
a. Of an action: Capricious, whimsical.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [adjective] > capricious or whimsical > marked or characterized by capriciousness
fantastical1531
feathery1601
fantasticala1618
arbitrary1646
fancy1646
whimmed1654
fantastic1658
volatile1661
vagarious1827
1646 E. Pagitt Heresiogr. (ed. 3) 118 Their owne fancy presumption they call..justifying faith.
1820 W. Irving Stratford-on-Avon in Sketch Bk. vii. 73 The Avon..made a variety of the most fancy doublings and windings through..a fertile valley.
1821 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 10 417 Many a fancy flam was proposed.
1836 Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) xix. 192 As a display of fancy-shooting, it was extremely varied and curious.
b. Of a price, rent, etc.: Estimated by caprice, rather than by actual value. So fancy stocks (cf. A. 14).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > pricing > [adjective] > determined or stated (of price) > by caprice rather than value
fancya1838
a1838 Macaulay Life & Lett. (1883) II. 28 The fancy price which a peculiar turn of mind led me to put on my liberty.
1848 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms Fancy stocks, a species of stocks which are bought and sold to a great extent in New York... Nearly all the fluctuations in their prices are artificial.
1874 J. T. Micklethwaite Mod. Parish Churches 312 They will give a fancy price for a work by a Leighton.
1874 R. Tyrwhitt Our Sketching Club 197 To take a moor at a fancy rent.
1888 T. E. Holland in Times 18 Aug. 8/4 The bombardment of an unfortified town..for the purpose of enforcing a fancy contribution or ransom.
c. Of an animal or bird: Of a kind bred for the development of particular ‘points’ or qualities. Also in fancy-farm: an experimental farm.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > [noun] > experimental or scientific farm
fancy-farm1810
bonanza farm1883
demonstration farm1885
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > [adjective] > kept for breeding > bred for desired quality > for points of beauty
fancy1810
fancied1876
1810 Sporting Mag. 36 10 A great many sorts of fancy-pigeons.
1818 Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian v, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. IV. 104 To engage him..to superintend his fancy-farm in Dumbartonshire.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 54/2 A dog recommended by its beauty, or any peculiarity..is a ‘fancy’ animal.
1880 Gainsburgh Times 20 Feb. in E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. ‘What sort of a dog was it?’..‘A fancy dog’.
1881 J. C. Lyell Fancy Pigeons Introd., Fancy pigeons from the lofts of well-known breeders.
d. fancy franchise: one based on an arbitrarily determined qualification (see quot. 1868).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > appointment to office > choosing or fact of being chosen for office > election of representative body by vote > right to vote at elections > [noun] > one of principles on which right based > specific
pot-walling1455
property qualification1794
pot-wobbling1796
household suffrage1819
fancy franchise1859
occupation franchise1862
lodger-franchise1867
1859 Hansard Commons 28 Feb. 1025 [John Bright loq.] I say, all these fancy franchises are absurd.
1868 Chambers's Encycl. X. 695/2 The dual vote was early abandoned, and its abandonment involved that of the ‘fancy’ franchises..they proposed to give votes to all who paid £1 annually in direct taxes (not including licences), who belonged to certain of the better educated professions, or who had £50 in a savings-bank or in the funds.
1889 Tablet 21 Dec. 983 Fancy franchises were also abandoned.
e. fancy religion (see quot. 1925).
ΚΠ
1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words Fancy religion, a very old Service colloquial term in both Navy and Army for a creed or denomination not Church of England, Roman Catholic, or Presbyterian, before the War the three authorized creeds.
4. Based upon or drawn from conceptions of the fancy ( B. 3), as fancy picture, fancy piece, fancy portrait, fancy sketch.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > mental image, idea, or fancy > [adjective] > only in imagination or unreal
imaginary?1510
imaginative1517
rational1530
fantastical1531
fantasied1561
airy1565
fancied1568
legendary1570
dreamed1597
fabled1606
ideal1611
fictive1612
affectual1614
insubstantiala1616
imaginatorya1618
supposititious1620
fictitious1621
utopian1624
utopic1624
notional1629
affective1633
fictiousa1644
notionary1646
figmental1655
suppositious1655
fict1677
visionary1725
metaphysical1728
unrealized1767
fancy1801
nice-spun1801
subjective1815
aerial1829
transcendental1835
cardboardy1863
mythical1870
cardboard1879
fictionary1882
figmentary1887
alternative1939
alternate1944
fantasized1964
ideate1966
fanciful-
fantastic-
1801 M. Edgeworth Belinda II. xviii. 178 This picture..is not a fancy-piece.
1820 H. Fuseli Lect. Painting II. iv. 6 The Phantasiae of the ancients, which modern art,..in what is called Fancy-Pictures, has..debased.
1841 R. W. Emerson Art in Dial Jan. 374 In sculpture, did ever any body call the Apollo a fancy piece?
1844 J. G. Whittier Two Processions in Prose Wks. (1889) III. 116 The caricature of our ‘general sympathizers’..is by no means a fancy sketch.
1873 H. Rogers Superhuman Origin Bible (1875) i. 36 We..look at this wonderful character as a fancy portrait.
5. Applied to a person who is fancied or who fancies himself: mostly synonymous (but in some expressions with slang overtones) with fancy man n. 1, or fancy-woman. Cf. also fancy-girl n. at Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [adjective] > dandyish
quaintc1330
skipjack1598
satin1603
coxcombly1610
prigginga1627
coxcombical1649
skipjackly1674
jessamy1696
beauish1699
foppish1699
priggish1701
Jemmy Jessamine1786
macaronian1792
buckish1806
dandy1813
dandified1826
dandyish1826
Brummellian1829
dandyic1832
dandiacal1834
squirtish1843
macaronyish1858
fine-gentlemanish1865
foppy1878
dude1879
dudish1883
fancy1891
1891 R. Kipling Light that Failed v. 73 'E brought some most remarkable fancy young gentlemen up 'ere.
1905 H. Ellis Stud. Psychol. Sex IV. 235, I..told her again I had no money. She..said, ‘That does not matter... I want you to be my fancy boy.’
1934 T. S. Eliot Rock i. 12 One o' them fancy lads—a good soldier and fond o' the ladies—but a great one for 'is church.
1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart iii. iv. 381 Eddie had been warned..that one could not go to all lengths as Mrs. Quayne's fancy boy.
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §452. 3 Dandy,..fancy pants.
1967 ‘M. Hunter’ Cambridgeshire Disaster viii. 52 Some puffed-up fancy pants..said something which made the barmaid laugh.
Compounds
attrib. and Comb. C1. General relations:
a. Simple attrib.
(a) (In sense A. 4.)
fancy-fit n.
ΚΠ
1855 R. Browning In a Balcony in Men & Women II. 101 This wild girl (whom I recognise Scarce more than you do, in her fancy-fit).
fancy-freak n.
ΚΠ
1884 R. Browning Ferishtah's Fancies (1885) 4 A fancy-freak by contrast born of thee.
fancy-woof n.
ΚΠ
1826 T. Hood Irish Schoolmaster xvi, in Whims & Oddities 127 Weaves a fancy-woof, Dreaming he sees his home.
(b) (sense A. 12b, A. 5c.)
fancy-lay n. [see lay n.7]
ΚΠ
1819 Tom Crib's Memorial App. 43 We, who're of the fancy-lay.
b. Objective.
(a)
fancy-feeding adj.
ΚΠ
1599 E. Sandys Europæ Speculum (1632) 162 Their..fancy-feeding flatterers shall all shrinke from them.
fancy-lighting adj.
ΚΠ
1857 R. A. Willmott Pleasures of Lit. xxi. 132 The fancy-lighting damsels of Dryden.
fancy-stirring adj.
ΚΠ
1835 N. P. Willis Pencillings II. xlv. 58 The Egyptian bazaar has been my..fancy-stirring lounge.
fancy-taking adj.
ΚΠ
1855 National Rev. July 57 The great features..which make society..remarkable, fancy-taking.
fancy-weaving adj.
ΚΠ
1884 Athenæum 6 Dec. 725/2 A certain fancy-weaving dervish.
(b)
fancy-monger n.
ΚΠ
a1616 Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iii. ii. 352 If I could meet that Fancie-monger, I would giue him some good counsel. View more context for this quotation
fancy-weaver n.
ΚΠ
1839 T. Hood Compass in Hood's Own xvii. 246/2 To eye of fancy-weaver Neptune..seem'd tossing in A raging scarlet fever!
(c)
fancy-spinning n.
ΚΠ
1962 W. Nowottny Lang. Poets Use iv. 91 Gaunt tries to comfort him with something like the fancy-spinning of Richard.
c. Instrumental, originative, and adverbial.
fancy-baffled adj.
ΚΠ
a1644 F. Quarles Solomons Recantation (1645) iv. 21 Thy false affections may rise up, and shake Thy fancy-baffled Judgment.
fancy-blest adj.
fancy-born adj.
fancy-borne adj.
fancy-bred adj.
fancy-built adj.
ΚΠ
1759 O. Goldsmith Pres. State Polite Learning vii, in Wks. (1881) II. 44 The fancy-built fabric is styled for a short time very ingenious.
fancy-caught adj.
ΚΠ
1631 T. Powell Tom of All Trades 174 The young Factor being fancy-caught.
fancy-driven adj.
ΚΠ
1844 Ld. Houghton Palm Leaves 131 They wandered, fancy-driven.
fancy-fed adj.
ΚΠ
1850 Tennyson In Memoriam lxxxiii. 121 So shall..pining life be fancy-fed. View more context for this quotation
fancy-formed adj.
ΚΠ
1654 T. Gataker Disc. Apol. 68 Fancie-formed pictures.
fancy-framed adj.
ΚΠ
1646 R. Crashaw Sospetto d'Herode lx, in Steps to Temple 71 Hee his owne fancy-framed foe defies.
fancy-grazing adj.
ΚΠ
1852 Meanderings of Memory I. 79 The fancy-grazing herds of freedom's pen.
fancy-guided adj.
ΚΠ
a1644 F. Quarles Solomons Recantation (1645) vii. 36 Fancy-guided motion.
fancy-led adj.
ΚΠ
1777 J. Mountain Poet. Reveries (ed. 2) 20 Fancy-led th' ideas ran.
1873 H. W. Longfellow Emma & Eginhard in Tales Wayside Inn 88 Love-letters thought the poet fancy-led.
fancy-raised adj.
ΚΠ
1798 W. Sotheby tr. C. M. Wieland Oberon iii. xxvii. 80 Now, reader, fancy-rais'd, as swells thy mind.
fancy-struck adj.
ΚΠ
1773 J. Home Alonzo iv, If we stay here we shall be fancy-struck.
fancy-stung adj.
ΚΠ
1822 W. Hazlitt Table-talk II. x. 229 Our ears are fancy-stung!
fancy-topped adj.
ΚΠ
1875 Atlantic Monthly Jan. 70 She has two tall fancy-topped chimneys.
fancy-waistcoated adj.
ΚΠ
1909 Daily Chron. 7 Aug. 4/7 He of the well-dressed, fancy-waistcoated order.
fancy-woven adj.
ΚΠ
1785 Warton Ode New Year i. 9 Fable's fancy-woven vest.
fancy-wrought adj.
ΚΠ
1801 Lusignan iv. 147 A fancy-wrought spectre.
C2. Special comb.
fancy-bloke n. slang = fancy man n.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > [noun] > living on earnings of prostitute > man who
jock-gagger1809
fancy man1811
fancy-bloke1846
ponce1859
John1906
souteneur1906
Johnson1954
1846 R. L. Snowden Magistrate's Assistant 344 A fancy bloak.
fancy Dan n. slang (orig. U.S.) a dandy; a showy but ineffective worker or sportsman.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [noun] > dandy
popa1500
miniona1513
prick-me-daintya1529
puppy?1544
velvet-coat1549
skipjack1554
coxcomb1567
musk cat?1567
physbuttocke1570
Adonis?1571
Adon1590
foretop1597
musk-cod1600
pretty fellow1600
sparkc1600
spangle-baby1602
flash1605
barber-monger1608
cocoloch1610
dapperling1611
fantastica1613
feather-cock1612
trig1612
jack-a-dandy?1617
gimcrack1623
satinist1639
powder puffa1653
fop1676
prig1676
foplinga1681
cockcomb1684
beau garçona1687
shape1688
duke1699
nab1699
smirk1699
beau1700
petty master1706
moppet1707
Tom Astoner1707
dapper1709
petit maître1711
buck1725
toupee1727
toupet1728
toupet-man1748
jemmy1753
jessamy1753
macaroni1764
majoc1770
monkeyrony1773
dandyc1780
elegant1780
muscadin1794
incroyable1797
beauty man1800
bang-up1811
natty1818
ruffian1818
exquisite1819
heavy swell1819
marvellous1819
bit of stuff1828
merveilleux1830
fat1832
squirt1844
dandyling1846
ineffable1859
guinea pig1860
Dundreary swell1862
masher1872
dude1877
mash1879
dudette1883
dand1886
heavy gunner1890
posh1890
nut1904
smoothie1929
fancy-pants1930
saga boy1941
fancy Dan1943
the mind > emotion > pride > ostentation > [noun] > ostentatious person > showy worker or performer
showman1828
fancy Dan1943
1943 Amer. Speech 18 107 Fancy Dan (a pitcher good in practice but sour in a game; also a dressy player).
1950 J. Dempsey Championship Fighting ii. 12 The amateur and professional ranks today are cluttered with..‘fancy Dans’.
1950 A. Lomax Mister Jelly Roll (1952) 49 Then you could observe the fancy Dans, dressed fit to kill.
1960 T. McLean Kings of Rugby xi. 168 Wellington's strong and experienced men..knew too much about defensive play to be gulled by Fancy-Dan stuff.
fancy-fit v. (trans.) to fit (with a garland) to one's fancy.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > ornament [verb (transitive)] > adorn with garland
garland1602
fancy-fit1820
1820 Keats Lamia ii, in Lamia & Other Poems 40 Each, as he did please, Might fancy-fit his brows.
fancy-free adj. free from the power of love.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > amorous love > [adjective] > free from the power of love
fancy-free1600
heart-wholea1616
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > unmarried person(s) > [adjective] > unattached
fancy-free1600
unattached1874
1600 Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream ii. i. 164 The imperiall Votresse passed on, In maiden meditation, fancy free. View more context for this quotation
1840 Thackeray Paris Sketch Bk. I. 198 They walk, fancy-free in all sorts of maiden meditations.
fancy-girl n. colloq. = fancy-woman n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > a lover > [noun] > one who is loved or a sweetheart > specifically a female sweetheart or girlfriend
lief971
ladya1393
ladyshipa1393
speciala1400
amiec1400
womanc1400
amoreta1425
mistressc1425
paramoura1450
fair ladya1470
girl?a1513
sooterkin1530
Tib1533
she1547
lady-love1568
jug1569
young lady1584
pigeon1592
love-lass1594
lass1596
dowsabel1612
swainling1615
lucky1629
Dulcinea1638
Lindabrides1640
inamorata1651
baby1684
best girl1691
lady friend1733
young woman1822
moll1823
querida1834
sheila1839
bint1855
tart1864
babykins1870
Dona1874
novia1874
fancy-girl1892
girlfriend1892
cliner1895
tootsy1895
dinah1898
best1904
twist and twirl1905
jane1906
kitten1908
patootie1918
meisie1919
bride1924
gf1925
jelly1931
sort1933
a bit (also piece) of homework1945
beast1946
queen1955
momma1964
mi'jita1970
her indoors1979
girlf1991
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [noun] > illicit intimacy > person > a mistress
chevesea700
wifeOE
bed-sister1297
concubine1297
leman1297
file1303
speciala1400
womanc1400
chamberer?a1425
mistress?a1439
cousin1470
doxy?1515
doll1560
pinnacea1568
nobsya1575
lier-by1583
sweetheart1589
she-friend1600
miss1606
underput1607
concupy1609
lig-by1610
factoress1611
leveret1617
night-piece1621
belly-piece1632
dolly1648
lie-bya1656
madamc1660
small girl1671
natural1674
convenient1676
lady of the lake1678
pure1688
tackle1688
sultana1703
kind girl1712
bosom-slave1728
pop1785
chère amie1792
fancy-woman1819
hetaera1820
fancy-piece1821
poplolly1821
secondary wife1847
other woman1855
fancy-girl1892
querida1902
wifelet1983
1892 P. H. Emerson Son of Fens xv. 131 We allust call our scythes arter our fancy-gels or our wives.
1930 A. P. Herbert Water Gipsies xxii, Let's hear the rest now—out with it! You been his fancy-girl?
1969 ‘M. Innes’ Family Affair ix. 101, I thought this fellow might paint a man's fancy girls—see?
fancy-loose adj. ready to roam at will.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > freedom of action or from restraint > [adjective]
freeeOE
unneedc1175
easyc1200
untiedc1374
unhemmeda1400
largec1400
unrefraineda1500
rampanta1540
unmuzzleda1541
unyoked1573
yokeless1584
licensed1593
unbound1593
wild1599
broad1604
fetterless1604
unconfined1607
ungyved1607
ungaged?1617
unboundeda1625
unfettereda1631
vagabond1635
unmanacled1686
unrestricted1750
haggard-wild1786
unconstrained1796
unshackled1796
chainless1816
rioty1819
untethered1826
unwithholdena1834
bondless1845
fancy-loose1850
constraintless1865
unpressured1879
undammed1896
balls-to-the-wall1967
balls-out1968
1850 E. B. Browning Poems II. 320 My thoughts..for earth too fancy-loose.
fancy-piece n. = fancy-girl n., fancy-woman n.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [noun] > illicit intimacy > person > a mistress
chevesea700
wifeOE
bed-sister1297
concubine1297
leman1297
file1303
speciala1400
womanc1400
chamberer?a1425
mistress?a1439
cousin1470
doxy?1515
doll1560
pinnacea1568
nobsya1575
lier-by1583
sweetheart1589
she-friend1600
miss1606
underput1607
concupy1609
lig-by1610
factoress1611
leveret1617
night-piece1621
belly-piece1632
dolly1648
lie-bya1656
madamc1660
small girl1671
natural1674
convenient1676
lady of the lake1678
pure1688
tackle1688
sultana1703
kind girl1712
bosom-slave1728
pop1785
chère amie1792
fancy-woman1819
hetaera1820
fancy-piece1821
poplolly1821
secondary wife1847
other woman1855
fancy-girl1892
querida1902
wifelet1983
1821 P. Egan Life in London i. iii. 47 Or even smiled with indifference at the rolls of soft which his most captivating fancy-piece drew from him repeatedly.
fancy-sick adj. love-sick.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > amorous love > [adjective] > languishing for or with love
sickOE
lovesicka1450
languishing1568
fancy-sick1600
lovelorn1637
1600 Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iii. ii. 96 All fancy sicke she is and pale of cheere, With sighes of loue. View more context for this quotation
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables ccxcv. 257 When we come..to the Fancy-Sick, there's No Cure for't.
1823 J. Baillie Poems 219 To thee the lover, fancy-sick, will sigh.
fancy-woman n. a kept mistress (cf. fancy man n.).
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [noun] > illicit intimacy > person > a mistress
chevesea700
wifeOE
bed-sister1297
concubine1297
leman1297
file1303
speciala1400
womanc1400
chamberer?a1425
mistress?a1439
cousin1470
doxy?1515
doll1560
pinnacea1568
nobsya1575
lier-by1583
sweetheart1589
she-friend1600
miss1606
underput1607
concupy1609
lig-by1610
factoress1611
leveret1617
night-piece1621
belly-piece1632
dolly1648
lie-bya1656
madamc1660
small girl1671
natural1674
convenient1676
lady of the lake1678
pure1688
tackle1688
sultana1703
kind girl1712
bosom-slave1728
pop1785
chère amie1792
fancy-woman1819
hetaera1820
fancy-piece1821
poplolly1821
secondary wife1847
other woman1855
fancy-girl1892
querida1902
wifelet1983
1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Mem. 173 A woman who is the particular favourite of any man, is termed his fancy woman, and vice versa.
1892 Daily News 1 Mar. 2/4 He brought home a female, whom he introduced as his ‘fancy woman’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online September 2014).
fancyv.
I. With reference to mental conception.† 4. To arrange in or according to fancy, or with artistic taste; to contrive, devise, design, plan.† 5. To allot or ascribe in fancy. Obs.
1. trans.absol.c1698 J. Locke Thoughts on Conduct of Understanding §31 If all our Search has yet reach'd no farther than simile..we rather fancie than know.† c. with inf. as obj. Obs.† f. to fancy out: to represent by an image; to exemplify. Obs. rare.
a. To frame in fancy; to portray in the mind; to picture to oneself; to conceive, imagine. Also (with notion of fancy n. 3), to suppose oneself to perceive.
ΚΠ
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica iv. xii. 215 Severall nations and ages do fancy unto themselves different years of danger. View more context for this quotation
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Berks. 81 It [sc. Berkshire] may be fancied in a form like a Lute.
1726 Swift Cadenus & Vanessa 24 She fancies Musick in his Tongue.
1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man i. iii. 327 Fansying to our~selves a confused Heap of Things.
1769 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) I. xx. 151 The author is..at liberty to fancy cases, and make..comparisons.
1861 Thackeray Four Georges i. 20, I fancy a considerable shrewdness..in his ways.
b. with simple complement, or to be: To imagine (a person, oneself, a thing) to be (so and so).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > evaluation, estimation, appraisal > appraise, estimate [verb (transitive)] > consider to be, account as
telleOE
talec897
seeOE
letc1000
holdc1200
reckon1340
aima1382
accounta1387
counta1387
judgec1390
takea1400
countc1400
receivec1400
existimatec1430
to look on ——?c1430
makec1440
reputea1449
suppose1474
treatc1485
determinea1513
recount?c1525
esteem1526
believe1533
estimate?1533
ascribe1535
consider1539
regard1547
count1553
to look upon ——1553
take1561
reck1567
eye?1593
censure1597
subscribe1600
perhibit1613
behold1642
resent1642
attributea1657
fancy1662
vogue1675
decount1762
to put down1788
to set down1798
rate1854
have1867
mean1878
1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ iii. iv. §6 Some have fancyed the earth to bee as one great animal.
1696 tr. J. Dumont New Voy. Levant 61, I fansi'd my self restor'd from Death to Life.
1728 E. Young Love of Fame iii, in Wks. (1757) I. 109 What most we wish, with ease we fansy near.
1833 H. Martineau Messrs. Vanderput & Snoek i. 11 Learning to fancy himself better than he is.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. xxii. 218, I could have fancied it a walrus.
1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 2nd Ser. 64 He fancies himself not in the senate, but on the bench.
ΚΠ
1726 J. M. tr. A. de La V. d'Orville de Vignacourt Tragical Hist. Chevalier de Vaudray 157 He, at last, fancy'd to have found the Mystery of it.
1754 A. Murphy Gray's Inn Jrnl. (1756) II. 194 No. 83 I fancied to myself to see my amiable Country-women engaged in a deep Debate.
d. with obj. and inf. or object clause. Also, †To represent imaginatively.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > imagine or visualize [verb (transitive)]
seeOE
thinkOE
bethinkc1175
devise1340
portraya1375
imagec1390
dreama1393
supposea1393
imaginea1398
conceive?a1425
fantasyc1430
purposea1513
to frame to oneselfa1529
'magine1530
imaginate1541
fancy1551
surmit?1577
surmise1586
conceit?1589
propose1594
ideate1610
project1612
figurea1616
forma1616
to call up1622
propound1634
edify1645
picture1668
create1679
fancify1748
depicture1775
vision1796
to conjure up1819
conjure1820
envisage1836
to dream up1837
visualize1863
envision1921
pre-visualize1969
society > communication > representation > [verb (transitive)] > imaginatively
fancy1551
1551 Bp. S. Gardiner Explic. Catholique Fayth f. 137, Fansinge that as one waue in the water thrusteth away an other, so doth one fourme an other.
1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 64 The figure of Europe is fancied to resemble a Queene.
1638 R. Baker tr. J. L. G. de Balzac New Epist. III. 64 Imployments, in which I fancy in my minde, we may spend our time.
1654 E. Wolley tr. G. de Scudéry Curia Politiæ 5 A device..which fansied me to passe beyond Hercules's Pillars.
a1682 Sir T. Browne Certain Misc. Tracts (1683) 107 He is aptly phancied even still revengefully to pursue his hated Wife.
1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest II. x. 79 She almost fancied she heard voices swell in the storm.
1845 M. Pattison in Christian Remembrancer Jan. 70 We read Bingham, and fancy we are studying ecclesiastical history.
e. In colloq. use often in the imperative as an exclamation of suprise. Also absol.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > exclamation of surprise [interjection]
whatOE
well, wellOE
avoyc1300
ouc1300
ay1340
lorda1393
ahaa1400
hillaa1400
whannowc1450
wow1513
why?1520
heydaya1529
ah1538
ah me!a1547
fore me!a1547
o me!a1547
what the (also a) goodyear1570
precious coals1576
Lord have mercy (on us)1581
good heavens1588
whau1589
coads1590
ay me!1591
my stars!a1593
Gods me1595
law1598
Godso1600
to go out1600
coads-nigs1608
for mercy!a1616
good stars!1615
mercy on us (also me, etc.)!a1616
gramercy1617
goodness1623
what next?1662
mon Dieu1665
heugh1668
criminy1681
Lawd1696
the dickens1697
(God, etc.) bless my heart1704
alackaday1705
(for) mercy's sake!1707
my1707
deuce1710
gracious1712
goodly and gracious1713
my word1722
my stars and garters!1758
lawka1774
losha1779
Lord bless me (also you, us, etc.)1784
great guns!1795
mein Gott1795
Dear me!1805
fancy1813
well, I'm sure!1815
massy1817
Dear, dear!1818
to get off1818
laws1824
Mamma mia1824
by crikey1826
wisha1826
alleleu1829
crackey1830
Madonna mia1830
indeed1834
to go on1835
snakes1839
Jerusalem1840
sapristi1840
oh my days1841
tear and ages1841
what (why, etc.) in time?1844
sakes alive!1846
gee willikers1847
to get away1847
well, to be sure!1847
gee1851
Great Scott1852
holy mackerel!1855
doggone1857
lawsy1868
my wig(s)!1871
gee whiz1872
crimes1874
yoicks1881
Christmas1882
hully gee1895
'ullo1895
my hat!1899
good (also great) grief!1900
strike me pink!1902
oo-er1909
what do you know?1909
cripes1910
coo1911
zowiec1913
can you tie that?1918
hot diggety1924
yeow1924
ziggety1924
stone (or stiffen) the crows1930
hullo1931
tiens1932
whammo1932
po po po1936
how about that?1939
hallo1942
brother1945
tie that!1948
surprise1953
wowee1963
yikes1971
never1974
to sod off1976
whee1978
mercy1986
yipes1989
1813 J. Austen Let. 6 Nov. (1995) 251 Very snug, in my own room, lovely morng, excellent fire, fancy me.
1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales I. 159 Fancy me boxed up in the narrow vehicle.
1850 E. Ruskin Let. 9 Feb. in M. Lutyens Effie in Venice (1965) i. 139 But, only fancy, the Thousands and Thousands of wax lights.
1859 J. Lang Wanderings in India 13 Fancy we three meeting again in the Himalaya mountains!
1861 Thackeray On being found Out in Roundabout Papers 126 Fancy all the boys in all the school being whipped.
1881 R. G. White Eng. Without & Within xvi. 388 Fancy, now! [in England] a very common expression of surprise.
a1943 R. G. Collingwood Idea of Hist. (1946) v. 270 Whom is she shielding? Either her father or her young man. Is it her father? No: fancy the rector!
1971 E. McGirr ‘No Better Fiend’ 83, I did the ‘fancy that!’ line of patter.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > [verb (transitive)]
depaint?c1225
paintc1275
figurec1380
resemblea1393
portraya1398
represent?a1425
impicture1523
portrait1548
shadow1553
to paint forth1558
storize1590
personate1591
limn1593
propound1594
model1604
table1607
semble1610
rendera1616
to paint out1633
person1644
present1649
to figure out1657
historize1668
to fancy out1669
to take off1680
figurate1698
refer1700
display1726
depicture1739
depict1817
actualize1848
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. vi. 105 The two later Motions are fancied out unto us, by a Man turning a Crane-Wheel, or Grind-stone 365 times round, while a Worm..creeps once round the contrary way.
2. To believe without being able to prove; to have an idea that. Frequently in I fancy: I rather think.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > suppose, surmise [verb (transitive)]
ween971
readOE
aweena1275
guessc1380
supposec1384
seemc1386
imaginec1405
presupposec1443
deem1470
surmise1509
suspectc1550
doubt1568
expect1592
s'pose1632
fancy1672
sus1958
the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > as I suppose [phrase]
methinkseOE
I weenc1175
afraid1530
I fancy1672
dare say1749
1672 Sir C. Lyttelton in E. M. Thompson Corr. Family of Hatton (1878) I. 99, I phancy the Dukes match wth ye Archduchesse is a little dulld.
1790 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) III. 162 This day, I fancy, will determine whether we are to be removed to Philadelphia or not.
1825 W. Cobbett Rural Rides in Weekly Reg. 26 Nov. 541 The estate is, I fancy, theirs yet.
1883 F. M. Peard Contradictions xviii, We fancy she is engaged to a Mr. Atherton.
3. To liken (a thing) in fancy †to; to transform (it) into. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > render similar to [verb (transitive)] > in one's imagination
fancy1646
the world > time > change > change to something else, transformation > transform [verb (transitive)]
wendOE
forshapeOE
workOE
awendOE
makec1175
turna1200
forwenda1325
change1340
shape1362
transmewc1374
transposec1380
puta1382
convertc1384
exchangea1400
remue?a1400
makea1425
reduce?a1425
removec1425
resolvea1450
transvertc1450
overchangec1480
mew1512
transmutea1513
wring1524
reduct1548
transform1556
innovate1561
metamorphose1576
transume1579
metamorphize1587
transmove1590
transchangea1599
transfashion1601
deflect1613
fordo1624
entail1628
transmutate1632
distila1637
to make much (also little, something, nothing, etc.) of1637
transqualify1652
unconvert1654
simulate1658
spend1668
transverse1687
hocus-pocus1774
mutate1796
fancy1801
to change around1871
metamorphosize1888
catalyse1944
morph1996
1646 G. Buck Hist. Life Richard III Ded., I fancy them to our shaddowes.
1801 R. Southey Thalaba I. iv. ix, Hast thou never, in the twilight, fancied Familiar object into some strange shape?
1868 J. R. Lowell Witchcraft in Prose Wks. (1890) II. 356 The first child that ever bestrode his father's staff, and fancied it into a courser.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > invention, devising > invent, devise [verb (transitive)]
findeOE
understand1297
devisea1300
shapec1381
warpa1387
enginec1400
weavec1420
reparel1434
studyc1530
conjecture1551
spina1575
ingeniate1592
think1599
to pattern out1601
decoct1602
smooth1603
to fetch about1611
fancy1635
plait1642
erect1646
1635 J. Swan Speculum Mundi v. §2. 142 They [sc. painters] fashion diversly according to their skill in fancying the laying of their colours.
a1640 P. Massinger Parl. of Love (1976) iv. ii. 112 Somethinge I must fancy, to disswade him From doinge suddaine violence on himself.
1665 T. Herbert Some Years Trav. (new ed.) 145 The figure of a Horse preparing to defend himself against a Lion; but so rarely fancied as gains the Sculptor praise.
1716 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 8 Sept. (1965) I. 261 Furniture..so well fancy'd and fited up.
1759 O. Goldsmith Bee 13 Oct. 35 Cloaths..fancied by the same artist who dresses the three battalions of guards.
1759 B. Martin Nat. Hist. Eng. I. 298 The mourning Pallases at the Base of it [a martial Figure] are both well fansied and well adapted.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > fancy or fantastic notion > conceive in fancy [verb (transitive)]
fantasyc1430
feign1557
fantasticate1600
fancya1643
fantasize1950
a1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary (1651) iv. ii. 61, I fancy'd you a beating.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. vi. 23 To fancy wings unto Dædalus. View more context for this quotation
1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 164 Fame hath fancied him that Title.
6. To have a good conceit of, plume oneself upon (oneself, one's own actions or qualities). colloq.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > self-esteem > conceit > be conceited about [verb (transitive)]
fancy1866
the mind > emotion > pride > self-esteem > conceit > be conceited [verb (reflexive)]
conceit1597
fancy1866
1866 Daily Tel. 20 Jan. 8/1 He ogles, he ‘fancies himself’.
1886 ‘H. Conway’ Living or Dead viii, I was conceited and fancied my game at whist.
II. With reference to fondness or liking.† 7.
Thesaurus »
a. To be to the fancy of; to please.
b. To attach by ‘fancy’ or liking to. Obs. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > liking or favourable regard > have liking for [verb (transitive)] > attach by fancy or liking to
fancy1567
1567 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure II. Concl. f. 427, The sauourous frute..fansied the sensuall tast of Adams wife.
a1592 R. Greene Frier Bacon (1594) sig. C3v, Fast fancied to the keepers bonny lasse.
8. To take a fancy to; to entertain a liking for; to be pleased with; to like.absol.1588 R. Greene Perimedes sig. H3, Sheepheards can fancie, but they cannot saye.a1616 Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) ii. v. 24 Should shee fancie, it should bee one of my complection.1726 Swift Cadenus & Vanessa 29 Five thousand Guineas in her Purse, The Doctor might have fancy'd worse.
a. with obj. a person. (In early use often = to be or fall in love with.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > liking or favourable regard > take a fancy or liking [verb (intransitive)]
fancy1545
takec1600
the mind > emotion > love > liking or favourable regard > have liking for [verb (transitive)] > take a liking to
fain1483
fancy1545
conceit1589
to take kindly to1733
to take to ——1748
to take a shine to1839
tumble1887
to cotton on to1907
1545 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Luke in Paraphr. New Test. i. 54 The people of Israel..as a people more derely beloued and fansyed.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 255 She went as simply as she might, to thentent that the king should not phansie her.
1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. i. x. §8. 199 Ninus..fancied her so strongly, as (neglecting all Princely respects) he tooke her from her husband.
a1616 Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) ii. i. 12, I neuer yet beheld that speciall face, Which I could fancie, more then any other. View more context for this quotation
1664 Dryden Rival Ladies i. ii. 8, I do not think she Fancies much the Man.
1838 J. W. Carlyle Lett. I. 95 Carlyle breakfasted with Moore..and fancied him.
b. with obj. a thing; also †with inf. as obj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > liking or favourable regard > have liking for [verb (transitive)]
loveOE
likea1200
to have a mind1530
affect1582
relish1600
fancy1616
adore1883
to have tickets on1908
fancify-
1616 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor (rev. ed.) i. i, in Wks. I. 5 Not to spend Your coyne on euery bable, that you phansie.
1644 Milton Areopagitica 7 Burning..what they fansied not.
1669 A. Browne Ars Pictoria App. (1675) 24 One phansies to draw Pictures by the Life.
1713 Pope in Guardian 10 June Throw all the Adventures you fancy into one Tale.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin II. xx. 47 Miss Ophelia was uneasy that Eva should fancy Topsy's society so much.
1894 N.E.D. at Fancy, Mod. The patient may eat anything that he fancies.
c. To view (a horse) favourably as a likely winner of a race.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > ride horse in race [verb (transitive)] > guess winner
spot1855
fancy1922
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xiv. [Oxen of the Sun] 379 A racinghorse he fancied.
1923 P. G. Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves xi. 116 Ocean Breeze is fancied, as I am told the expression is, for a race which will take place..at Goodwood.
III.
9. To breed (animals or birds); to grow (plants) so as to develop in them conventional ‘points’ of beauty. Also, simply to breed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > rear animals [verb (transitive)] > breed > breed for beauty
fancy1851
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 15/2 Pigeons are ‘fancied’ to a large extent.
1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 249/2 ‘Fancying’ is not governed by rules identical with those which regulate breeding for economic purposes.
Derivatives
ˈfancying n. the action of the verb in various senses; also concr. something that one fancies.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > [noun] > breeding for desired quality > for points of beauty
fancy1862
fancying1876
1662 W. Petty Treat. Taxes 6 Civil wars are..caused by peoples fansying that [etc.].
a1729 S. Clarke Serm. (1730) III. vi. 140 A childish..imagination, that God is pleased with their pretending or fansying that they believe they know not what.
1758 B. Franklin Let. 19 Feb. in Wks. (1887) III. 8 Another of my fancyings..a pair of silk blankets.
a1839 W. M. Praed Poems (1864) II. 184 The fancyings of fancy costumes.
1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 249/2 ‘Fancying’ is not governed by rules identical with those which regulate breeding for economic purposes.
1889 Athenæum 16 Nov. 667/3 The excellent fancying of the little ‘genteel’ colony in Bankside.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online September 2014).
<
n.adj.1465v.1545