phantasy

Phantasy, sometimes spelled fantasy, is a term used across disciplines to refer to the mind's images, stories, and impulses that arise independently of immediate sensory input. The word derives from the Greek phantasia through Latin; in English it has historically appeared as both phantasy and fantasy. In modern usage, fantasy is the standard spelling, but phantasy remains in use in scholarly contexts, especially in psychology and literary history.

In psychology, especially within psychoanalysis and object-relations theory, phantasy denotes unconscious or preconscious mental content that guides perception, affect, and behavior. It is distinguished from conscious daydreams or planned thoughts, though such forms can be shaped by underlying phantasy. The concept was developed by early psychoanalysts such as Melanie Klein, who described phantasy as the internal world of wishes, gratifications, fears, and fears of loss that organize relationships to others. The term has also appeared in psychodynamic theories as a way to account for symbolic meaning in dreams, fantasies, and play.

In literature and art, phantasy is often used to signal a more archaic, dreamlike, or symbolic mode of imagining, sometimes overlapping with the broader sense of fantasy. In contemporary usage, fantasy remains the predominant term for genre fiction, while phantasy appears mainly in historical, theoretical, or stylistic contexts. Notable related concepts include dream, imagination, and phantasm. See also: fantasy, daydream, dreamwork.