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Synonyms

pixie

American  
[pik-see] / ˈpɪk si /
Also pixy

noun

plural

pixies

  1. a fairy or sprite, especially a mischievous one.

  2. a small, pert, or mischievous person.

adjective

  1. Also pixieish, pixyish. playfully impish or mischievous; prankish.

    pixie mood; a pixie sense of humor.
pixie British  
/ ˈpɪksɪ /

noun

  1. (in folklore) a fairy or elf

"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

Etymology

Origin of pixie

First recorded in 1620–30; originally dialect (southwestern England) pixy, pigsy, pisky; origin uncertain

Explanation

A pixie is a mythical creature that resembles a mischievous fairy. If you spy some adorable little sprites in green pointed hats sneaking around the woods, you can bet that they're pixies. Pixies appear in folk and fairy tales from the southwest part of England, making minor mischief and dancing in groups. Today a pixie is more or less the same as a fairy or sprite, but older folktales describe conflicts (and even wars) between these groups. The root of the word pixie is a mystery — it may be related to the Swedish dialect pyske, "small fairy," but it's probably rooted in an unknown Celtic word.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Seberg’s haircut in the original film, a super-short, blond pixie cut, rewrote fashion trends around the world and encapsulated a spirit of youthful, diffident insouciance.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 20, 2025

For Knox, freedom has meant accepting a mantle that her young, manic pixie self could never have envisioned.

From Salon • Apr. 14, 2025

During chemotherapy, Jenna said she lost her hair and shared a photo on Instagram of her "patchy pixie" cut as it grew back.

From BBC • Oct. 9, 2024

Does your manic pixie dream girl complex fantasize about an ethereal-looking stranger mesmerized in reverie as they gaze upon the dapples of fluorescent Tom Bradley terminal lights reflecting off this sumptuously swamp-hued fabric?

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2024

A pixie landed on my hand and I swatted it away.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.