phantasmagoria. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

phantasmagoria

SYLLABICATION:	phan·tas·ma·go·ri·a
PRONUNCIATION:	fn-tzm-gôr-, -gr-
VARIANT FORMS:	also phan·tas·ma·go·ry (fn-tzm-gôr, -gr)
NOUN:	Inflected forms: pl. phan·tas·ma·go·ri·as also phan·tas·ma·go·ries 1a. A fantastic sequence of haphazardly associative imagery, as seen in dreams or fever. b. A constantly changing scene composed of numerous elements. 2. Fantastic imagery as represented in art.
ETYMOLOGY:	Alteration of obsolete French phantasmagorie, art of creating supernatural illusions : perhaps fantasme, illusion (from Old French; see phantasm) + allégorie, allegory, allegorical visual representation (from Old French, allegory, from Latin allgoria; see allegory).
OTHER FORMS:	phan·tasma·goric (-gôrk, -gr-) —ADJECTIVE phan·tasma·gori·cal·ly —ADVERB


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.