fairy

[ fair-ee ]

/ ˈfɛər i /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fairy ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural fair·ies.

(in folklore) one of a class of supernatural beings, generally conceived as having a diminutive human form and possessing magical powers with which they intervene in human affairs.

Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a male homosexual.

adjective

of or relating to fairies: fairy magic.

of the nature of a fairy; fairylike.

fairy green.

Nearby words

Origin of fairy

1250–1300; Middle English faierie < Old French: enchantment, fairyland. See fay¹, -ery

SYNONYMS FOR fairy

1. pixy, leprechaun. Fairy, brownie, elf, sprite are terms for imaginary beings usually less than human size, thought to be helpful or harmful to people. Fairy is the most general name for such beings: a good fairy as a godmother; misadventures caused by an evil fairy. A brownie is a good-natured tiny being who appears usually at night to do household tasks: Perhaps the brownies will come and mow the lawn tonight. Elf suggests a young, mischievous or roguish fairy: That child is a perfect little elf. Sprite suggests a fairy of pleasing appearance, older than an elf, to be admired for ease and lightness of movement; it may, however, be impish or even hostile: a dainty sprite.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fairy ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fairy

But when the darkness closes in, we actually run to fairy tales and fables.
On Torture, Chuck Johnson & Sondheim|James Poulos|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Actually, rather like Gruber, we feel rather icky about fairy tales.
On Torture, Chuck Johnson & Sondheim|James Poulos|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Not that the demonstration had anything to do with this couple, whom Sarah seems to see as a fairy tale come to life.
Synagogue Slay: When Cops Have to Kill|Michael Daly|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In reality, prison weddings look nothing like the fairy tales depicted on TV and in bridal magazines.
Saying Yes to the Dress—Behind Bars|Caitlin Dickson|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST

“I have full faith that this will happen,” Williams says, prepping her fairy dust for a flurry of happy thoughts.
The Cast of ‘Peter Pan Live!’ Knows You Hatewatched ‘The Sound of Music’|Kevin Fallon|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And yet he was conquered by a woman; the fairy Vivien enchanted the enchanter and kept him in a hawthorn bush under a spell.
The Life of Joan of Arc, Vol. 1 and 2 (of 2)|Anatole France
One couldn't help wondering that the Fairy Aurora allowed it to be in her room.
Roumanian Fairy Tales|Various
Take up the love poems, elegies, fairy tales and prayers of the ancient Egyptians.
The Literature of Ecstasy|Albert Mordell
Once, her moving fingers 155 felt the little bag hanging from its leathern thong about her neck, in which was the fairy crystal.
Heart of the Blue Ridge|Waldron Baily
His fairy tales, very much got in their day, would make very dull reading now.
Court Beauties of Old Whitehall|W. R. H. Trowbridge

British Dictionary definitions for fairy

fairy

/ (ˈfɛərɪ) /

noun plural fairies

an imaginary supernatural being, usually represented in diminutive human form and characterized as clever, playful, and having magical powers

slang a male homosexual

away with the fairies informal out of touch with reality

adjective (prenominal)

of or relating to a fairy or fairies

resembling a fairy or fairies, esp in being enchanted or delicate

Derived Formsfairy-like, adjective

Word Origin for fairy

C14: from Old French faerie fairyland, from feie fairy, from Latin Fāta the Fates; see fate, fay 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fairy

fairy

c.1300, fairie, "enchantment, magic," from Old French faerie "land of fairies, meeting of fairies, enchantment, magic," from fae "fay," from Latin fata (plural) "the Fates," from PIE *bha- "to speak" (see fame (n.)).

As "a supernatural creature" from late 14c. [contra Tolkien; cf. "This maketh that ther been no fairyes" in "Wife of Bath's Tale"], perhaps via intermediate forms such as fairie knight "supernatural or legendary knight" (early 14c.). The diminutive winged beings so-called in children's stories seem to date from early 17c.

Yet I suspect that this flower-and-butterfly minuteness was also a product of "rationalization," which transformed the glamour of Elfland into mere finesse, and invisibility into a fragility that could hide in a cowslip or shrink behind a blade of grass. It seems to become fashionable soon after the great voyages had begun to make the world seem too narrow to hold both men and elves; when the magic land of Hy Breasail in the West had become the mere Brazils, the land of red-dye-wood. [J.R.R. Tolkien, "On Fairy-Stories," 1947]

The slang meaning "effeminate male homosexual" is first recorded 1895. Fairy ring is from 1590s. Fossil sea urchins found on the English downlands were called fairy loaves.

Idioms and Phrases with fairy

fairy

In addition to the idiom beginning with fairy

fairy godmother

also see:

tooth fairy

fairy

noun, plural fair·ies.

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of fairy

Examples from the Web for fairy

fairy

noun plural fairies

adjective (prenominal)

Word Origin for fairy

fairy

fairy