fairy · adj — like a fairy; fanciful, whimsical, delicate. It carries an Arena rating of 1594, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, fairy ranks #143 of 17,187 for Most Malleable Words, #349 of 17,161 for Most Beautiful Words, #658 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,036 of 17,177 for Most Whimsical Words.
fairy is pronounced /ˈfɛəɹi/.
Why “fairy” is a great word
A mythical being of folklore, often of diminutive human form and possessing magical powers, or pertaining to the realm or qualities of such beings. From Middle English faierie, fairie, from Old French faerie, from fae ("fay, fairy") + -erie (collective suffix), with fae deriving from Latin fāta ("goddess of fate"), first attested in English c. 1330 in the sense of 'enchantment, illusion'. Unlike "elf," a being rooted in the specific soils and forges of Germanic myth, or "sprite," a term for a small, tricksy, and vaporous spirit, fairy is the broader, more romantic canopy of courtly enchantment and perilous grace. It is the cobweb-light shimmer at the edge of a sun-dappled wood, the sudden silence of birdsong at twilight, and the ring of darker grass that marks where they have danced—the whole tradition whispers that the oldest magics are not in grand displays, but in the quiet, fateful tipping of a balance.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Middle English faierie, fairie, from Old French faerie, from fae (from Latin fāta (“goddess of fate”)) + -erie. Equivalent to fay + -ry. Attested in English from about 1330, in King Alisaunder, first in the sense of "enchantment, illusion, dream" ("that thou herdest is fairye") and shortly thereafter "realm of the fays, fairy-land" and "the inhabitants of fairyland, collectively". The re-interpretation of the term as a countable noun denoting individual inhabitants of fairy-land can be traced to the 1390s, but became common only in the 16th century, perhaps due to reinterpreting phrases like faerie knight.
adj
- Like a fairy; fanciful, whimsical, delicate.
noun
- A mythical being of human form with magical powers, known in many sizes and descriptions, although typically depicted as a small sprite with gauze-like wings, especially one that is female. Fairies are revered in some modern forms of paganism.
- A male homosexual, especially one who is effeminate.
- An effeminate man or boy.
- An attractive young woman; a small, graceful woman.e.g.“"When are we going to see this fairy?" demanded Algy.
"You, personally, never. You're far too immoral. I might let the others look at her from a distance in a year or two."” — 1920, H. C. McNeile "Snapper", 'Bulldog Drummond':
- An enchantress, or creature of overpowering charm.
- A member of two species of hummingbird in the genus Heliothryx.
- A legendary Chinese immortal.
- The realm of faerie; enchantment, illusion.e.g.“Which is sixteen leagues long, but is so full of Fairie and strange things that few people pass there without being lost or stopt, because therewithin dwelleth a king, Oberon the Fay.” — 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 61:
- The land or region inhabited by fairies; fairyland.
- Fairies considered collectively; fairy folk.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
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