imagicadj.
/ˈɪmᵻdʒɪk/, U.S. /ˈɪmɪdʒɪk/ Relating to images; of the nature of an image, imagelike.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > mental image, idea, or fancy > [adjective]
imaginary1594
imaginal1638
visual1817
imagic1937
imagy1937
1937 ‘C. Caudwell’ Illusion & Reality 237 The manifest content is imagic phantasy.
1953 Ess. in Crit. 3 431 ‘Soundlessly’ shares with ‘Spawning’ the imagic honours.
1957 N. Frye Sound & Poetry 136 The ‘New Criticism’, chiefly concerned with the imagic and referential meaning (semantic) levels.
2000 Art Educ. 53 iv. 21/1 Non-specific old buildings constitute another imagic motif.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1937