Fancy vs Pattern - What's the difference?

fancy | pattern | Related terms |

Fancy is a related term of pattern.

As nouns the difference between fancy and pattern

is that fancy is the imagination while pattern is model, example.

As verbs the difference between fancy and pattern

is that fancy is (formal) to appreciate without jealousy or greed while pattern is to apply a pattern.

As an adjective fancy

is decorative.

fancy

English

Alternative forms

* (all obsolete)

Noun

(fancies)

The imagination.

* Milton

In the soul / Are many lesser faculties, that serve / Reason as chief. Among these fancy next / Her office holds.

An image or representation of anything formed in the mind; conception; thought; idea.

* Shakespeare

How now, my lord! why do you keep alone, / Of sorriest fancies your companions making?

An opinion or notion formed without much reflection; an impression.

* John Locke

I have always had a fancy that learning might be made a play and recreation to children.

A whim.

I had a fancy to learn to play the flute.

Love or amorous attachment.

He took a fancy to her.

The object of inclination or liking.

* Shakespeare

to fit your fancies to your father's will

Any sport or hobby pursued by a group.

Trainspotting is the fancy of a special lot.

the cat fancy

The enthusiasts of such a pursuit.

He fell out of favor with the boxing fancy after the incident.

* De Quincey

a great book sale in London, which had congregated all the fancy

A diamond with a distinctive colour.

That which pleases or entertains the taste or caprice without much use or value.

* Mortimer

London pride is a pretty fancy for borders.

(obsolete) A sort of love song or light impromptu ballad.

(Shakespeare)

In the game of jacks, a style of play involving additional actions (contrasted with plainsies).

* 1970 , Marta Weigle, Follow my fancy: the book of jacks and jack games (page 22)

When you have mastered plainsies, the regular jack game, and have learned all the rules, you will be ready to use this part of the book. A fancy is a variation of plainsies which usually requires more skill than plainsies does.

* 2002 , Elizabeth Dana Jaffe, ?Sherry L. Field, ?Linda D. Labbo, Jacks (page 26)

When you get good at jacks, try adding a fancy . A fancy is an extra round at the end of a game. It makes the game a little harder. Jack Be Nimble, Around the World, or Black Widow are some fancies.

Derived terms

* flight of fancy * tickle someone's fancy

Adjective

(er)

Decorative.

This is a fancy shawl.

Of a superior grade.

This box contains bottles of the fancy grade of jelly.

Executed with skill.

He initiated the game winning play with a fancy , deked saucer pass to the winger.

(colloquial) Unnecessarily complicated.

I'm not keen on him and his fancy ideas.

(obsolete) Extravagant; above real value.

* Macaulay

This anxiety never degenerated into a monomania, like that which led his [Frederick the Great's] father to pay fancy prices for giants.

Synonyms

* (decorative) decorative, ornate * (unnecessarily complicated) highfalutin

Antonyms

* (decorative) plain, simple * (unnecessarily complicated) simple

Verb

(en-verb)

(formal) To appreciate without jealousy or greed.

I fancy your new car, but I like my old one just fine.

(British) would like

I fancy a burger tonight for dinner

Do you fancy going to town this weekend?

(British, informal) To be sexually attracted to.

I fancy that girl over there.

(dated) To imagine, suppose.

I fancy you'll want something to drink after your long journey.

Fancy meeting you here!

Fancy that! I saw Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy kissing in the garden.

* John Locke

If our search has reached no farther than simile and metaphor, we rather fancy than know.

* Thackeray

He fancied he was welcome, because those around him were his kinsmen.

* 1895 , H. G. Wells, The Time Machine Chapter X

I fancied at first the stuff was paraffin wax, and smashed the jar accordingly. But the odor of camphor was unmistakable.

To form a conception of; to portray in the mind; to imagine.

* Dryden

he whom I fancy , but can ne'er express

To have a fancy for; to like; to be pleased with, particularly on account of external appearance or manners.

* Shakespeare

We fancy not the cardinal.

Synonyms

* (be sexually attracted to) like (US) * (would like to) feel like

Derived terms

* fancy that

External links

pattern

English

(wikipedia pattern)

Noun

(en noun)

Model, example.

# Something from which a copy is made; a model or outline.

#* 1923 , ‘President Wilson’, Time , 18 Jun 1923:

There is no reason why all colleges and universities should be cut to the same pattern .

# Someone or something seen as an example to be imitated; an exemplar.

#* 1946 , Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy , I.16:

The Platonic Socrates was a pattern to subsequent philosophers for many ages.

# A representative example.

# (US) The material needed to make a piece of clothing.

# (textiles) The paper or cardboard template from which the parts of a garment are traced onto fabric prior to cutting out and assembling.

# (metalworking, dated) A full-sized model around which a mould of sand is made, to receive the melted metal. It is usually made of wood and in several parts, so as to be removed from the mould without damage.

# (computing) A text string containing wildcards, used for matching.

There were no files matching the pattern *.txt.

Decorative arrangement.

# A design, motif or decoration, especially formed from regular repeated elements.

#* 2003 , Valentino, ‘Is there a future in fashion's past?’, Time , 5 Feb 2003:

On my way to work the other day, I stopped at a church in Rome and saw a painting of the Madonna. The subtle pattern of blues and golds in the embroidery of her dress was so amazing that I used it to design a new evening dress for my haute couture.

# A naturally-occurring or random arrangement of shapes, colours etc. which have a regular or decorative effect.

#* 2011 , Rachel Cooke, The Observer , 19 Jun 2011:

He lifted the entire joint or fowl up into the air, speared on a carving fork, and sliced pieces off it so that they fell on the plate below in perfectly organised patterns .

# The given spread, range etc. of shot fired from a gun.

# A particular sequence of events, facts etc. which can be understood, used to predict the future, or seen to have a mathematical, geometric, statistical etc. relationship.

#* 1980 , ‘Shifting Targets’, Time , 6 Oct 1980:

The three killings pointed to an ugly new shift in the enduring pattern of violence in Northern Ireland: the mostly Protestant Ulster police, or those suspected of affiliation with them, have become more prominent targets for the I.R.A. than the British troops.

#* 2003 , Kate Hudson, The Guardian , 14 Aug 2003:

Look again at how the US and its allies behaved then, and the pattern is unmistakable.

# (linguistics) An intelligible arrangement in a given area of language.

Synonyms

* original (1) * stencil (1) * tessellation (2) * category (3) * cycle (4) * similarity (5) * See also

Antonyms

* antipattern

Derived terms

* design pattern

Verb

(en verb)

to apply a pattern

To make or design (anything) by, from, or after, something that serves as a pattern; to copy; to model; to imitate.

* Sir T. Herbert

[A temple] patterned from that which Adam reared in Paradise.

to follow an example

to fit into a pattern

To serve as an example for.

Synonyms

* model * categorize (2)