An archaic or dialectal term, possibly referring to a phantom, ghost, or a whim or fancy.
Possibly from Middle English or dialectal origins, potentially related to 'phantom' or 'fantasy.' The exact etymology is uncertain, and the word is now obsolete or highly regional.
Words like 'fant' remind us that language has thousands of obsolete terms buried in old texts—medieval people might use a word that nobody has said in 400 years, and only specialized researchers know it ever existed.
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