Etymology
The term "urban fantasy" has been in use in print from as far back as the early 20th century. However, when used then, the term described a characteristic of some object or place. For example, in Horst Schmidt-Brummer's 1973 book about Venice, California, he adds the subtitle, "An Urban Fantasy" to denote a nostalgia over what he feels is a lack of appreciation for the uniqueness of the city. And in various New York Times advertisements in 1928 through 1930 for the St. Regis hotel, the term appears to imply that the setting of the said hotel is a sort of paradise: "Never was an Urban fantasy so enchanting..."
It was not until the 1980s that the term began to describe a style of fiction, either written, performed in theatre, or filmed for Hollywood and television. An example of this is Marta Randall's San Francisco Chronicle review of Down Town by Tappan King, illustrated by Viido Polikarpus. In it, Randall states that the book is "the most engaging of the current crop of urban fantasies". Another example is a 1987 New York Times article concerning the conclusion of a study conducted by the BBC about violence in U.S. television, which calls the television series The Equalizer a "highly popular urban fantasy".
Read more about this topic: Urban Fantasy
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)