Word of the Day: ROMANTASY
Perhaps love is the greatest fantasy of all...
When I wrote up my review of the 2024 Words of the Year, I held one selection back for special attention. What can I say… I’m a sucker for a good portmanteau.
romantasy (noun) - a subgenre of fantasy fiction that combines romance and fantasy elements; a romance story in a fantasy setting
BREAKDOWN: The word romantasy is an obvious portmanteau of two major literary genres: ROMANCE + FANTASY. While the romantasy subgenre ballooned in popularity in 2024, the concept of mixing romance and fantasy is hardly new. The subtle and sometimes ineffable distinction that sets romantasy apart from the rest is that both the romantic and fantastical elements should carry equal import.
“I still like to live in a whimsical world that seems more romantic and fantasy-related because real life seems so hard.” —Taylor Swift
[Our Wednesday Wildcards are fascinating and important words that are not derived from classical roots.]
I feel like this discussion of the word ROMANTASY was too light in etymology, so let's explore the origins of the constituent words:
ROMANCE refers first to the works of Rome and its empire, or more specifically its language, Latin. The Latin romaince meant 'in the Latin vernacular,' which is why we still call those tongues with Latin origins Romance languages.
However, over time, Romance picked up other connotations and referred to works translated from Latin to derivative languages like Old French. Eventually, the term narrowed in application to heroic narratives and grand themes, which eventually came to include love and courtship. We still invoke the earlier sense of grand drama when we 'romanticize' or idealize situations.
FANTASY has a much easier origin to explain. The word is derived from the root PHAN- meaning ‘to show or appear,’ traceable all the way back to the Greek word phantasia meaning ‘power of imagination.’