fantast, phantast
(ˈfæntæst)
[ad. med.L. phantasta, Gr. ϕανταστής, agent-n. f. ϕαντάζειν, ϕαντάζεσθαι. In Gr. the word meant (in accordance with the primary sense of the active verb) ‘an ostentatious person, boaster’: see next. Cf. Ger. fantast, phantast, which is the source of the modern use.]
1. A visionary, a dreamer; a flighty, impulsive person.
| 1588 J. H[arvey] Disc. Probl. 128 O vain Phantasts and fond Dotterels! 1804 Coleridge in Lit. Rem. (1836) II. 413 A quiet and sublime enthusiast with a strong tinge of the fantast. 1855 Lewes Goethe (1864) 494 She is one of those phantasts to whom everything seems permitted. |
2. A fantastic writer; one who aims at eccentricity of style.
| 1873 F. Hall Mod. Eng. 171 Fantasts and contortionists like Mr. Carlyle. |