fanta
/ˈfæntə/noun, verb
Alternative lowercase form of the Fanta brand name
From German Fantasie (Imagination).
Lineage
Selected stage
Modern English
fanta — Alternative lowercase form of the Fanta brand name
The story
Fanta began as a name for a Coca-Cola alternative in wartime Germany. In 1941, an American trade embargo and British naval blockade disrupted the supply of Coca-Cola syrup, so Coca-Cola Deutschland developed a drink from ingredients available locally. During a brainstorming session, Max Keith urged his team to use their imagination; salesman Joe Knipp responded, “Fanta!” The name echoed German Fantasie, meaning “imagination.”
Production of the wartime drink stopped in 1949. A new orange formulation began production in Naples in 1955, and Coca-Cola bought the brand in 1960. In English, lowercase fanta is listed as an alternative letter-case form of the brand name, used as both a noun and a verb.