Fancywork
/ˈfæn.si.wɜːrk/noun
Decorative needlework or ornamental handiwork.
Did you know?Fancywork is built on a word family that once meant imagination, illusion, and even the mind’s power to conjure images, which is why it feels so much more enchanted than ordinary “work.”
Etymological Timeline
Late 14th Century
English
fancy
“A mental image, whim, or inclination”
15th Century
English
fancy work
“Decorative needlework or ornamental sewing”
16th Century
English
fantasy
“A mental image, imagination, or illusion”
Late Middle English
English
fantasie
“Imagination; vision; whim”
Old French
OF
fantasie
“Imagination, vision, mental image”
Latin
L.
phantasia
“Apparition, imagination, appearance”
Ancient Greek
Gk.
phantasia
“Appearance, image, imagination”