fairy
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English fairye, fairie, from Old French faerie, from fae + -erie, from Vulgar Latin *Fāta (“goddess of fate”), from Latin fātum (“fate”). Equivalent to fey + -ry.
English from ca. 1300, first in the sense of "enchantment, illusion, dream" and later "realm of the fays, fairy-land" or "the inhabitants of fairyland as a collective". The re-interpretation of the term as a countable noun denoting individual inhabitants of fairy-land can be traced to the 1390s, but becomes common only in the 16th century.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈfɛːɹi/
- (General American) enPR: fârʹē
- (Mary–marry–merry distinction) IPA(key): /ˈfɛə̯ɹi/
- (Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA(key): /ˈfɛɹi/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛəɹi
- Homophone: ferry (in accents with the Mary-marry-merry merger)
Noun[edit]
fairy (countable and uncountable, plural fairies)
- (uncountable, obsolete) The realm of faerie; enchantment, illusion.
- A mythical being with magical powers, known in many sizes and descriptions, although often depicted in modern illustrations only as a small sprite with gauze-like wings, and revered in some modern forms of paganism.
- 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, H.L. Brækstad, transl., Folk and Fairy Tales, page 51:
- "They used to say there were fairies in that hill, I must tell you!"
- An enchantress, or creature of overpowering charm.
- (Northern England, US, derogatory, colloquial) A male homosexual, especially one who is effeminate.
- 1933, Nathanael West, 'Miss Lonelyhearts' [Miss Lonelyhearts is male.]
- The cripple returned the smile and stuck out his hand. Miss Lonelyhearts clasped it, and they stood this way, smiling and holding hands, until Mrs. Doyle reëntered the room.
"What a sweet pair of fairies you guys are," she said.
The cripple pulled his hand away and made as though to strike his wife.
- The cripple returned the smile and stuck out his hand. Miss Lonelyhearts clasped it, and they stood this way, smiling and holding hands, until Mrs. Doyle reëntered the room.
- 1957, Jack Kerouac, chapter 4, in On the Road, Viking Press, OCLC 43419454, part 3:
- We saw a horrible sight in the bar: a white hipster fairy had come in wearing a Hawaiian shirt and was asking the big drummer if he could sit in.
- 1933, Nathanael West, 'Miss Lonelyhearts' [Miss Lonelyhearts is male.]
- A member of two species of hummingbird in the genus Heliothryx.
- A legendary Chinese immortal.
Synonyms[edit]
- (supernatural creature): fay, fey, fae, sprite; see also goblin (hostile)
- (male homosexual): fag (US), faggot (US), poof (UK), queen
Derived terms[edit]
- airy-fairy
- fairy bluebird
- fairy bread
- fairy chess
- fairy circle
- fairy cycle
- fairy dust
- fairyfloss
- fairy floss
- fairy-flycatcher
- fairy godmother
- fairyism
- fairyland
- fairy lights
- fairy lily
- fairy liquid
- fairy martin
- fairy penguin
- fairy primrose
- fairy ring
- fairy ring champignon
- fairy shrimp
- fairy story
- fairy tale
- fairy-tale, fairytale
- fairy tern
- fairy thorn
- fairy wren
- tooth fairy
- water fairy
Translations[edit]
mythical being
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(derogatory slang) effeminate male homosexual
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Adjective[edit]
fairy (comparative more fairy, superlative most fairy)
- Like a fairy; fanciful, whimsical, delicate.
- 1831, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Romance and Reality, volume 2, page 287:….—a large cashmere shawl, with its border of roses, thrown carelessly on a chair—a crimson cushion, where lay sleeping a Blenheim dog, almost small enough to have passed through the royal ring in that most fairy tale of the White Cat:—all bespoke a lady's room.
Spanish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From genericized trademark Fairy.
Noun[edit]
fairy m (uncountable)
- (Spain) washing-up liquid, dish soap
- Synonyms: lavavajillas, lavavajillas líquido
- 2022 January 23, Janire Manzanas, “¿Se pueden limpiar las gafas con Fairy?”, in OkDiario[1]:
- Sin embargo, no siempre tenemos una gamuza a mano, así que recurrimos a otras soluciones, como limpiar las gafas con Fairy y agua.
- However, we don't always have a chamois on hand, so we turn to other solutions, such as cleaning the glasses with Fairy and water.
- 2019 March 5, “Así es la "trampa del Fairy" de Millo que desata las risas en redes”, in El Plural[2]:
- El exdelegado del Gobierno en Cataluña Josep Enric Millo se ha referido este martes durante su declaración en el juicio del 'procés' en el Supremo a la "trampa del Fairy" como uno de los tipos de agresión que sufrieron los agentes que participaron en el dispositivo desplegado en la jornada del referéndum del 1 de octubre en Cataluña.
- (please add an English translation of this quote)
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰeh₂- (speak)
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms suffixed with -ry
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɛəɹi
- Rhymes:English/ɛəɹi/2 syllables
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English terms with quotations
- Northern England English
- American English
- English derogatory terms
- English colloquialisms
- English adjectives
- en:Mythological creatures
- en:LGBT
- en:Hummingbirds
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish uncountable nouns
- Spanish masculine nouns
- Spanish Spanish
- Spanish terms with quotations
- Spanish genericized trademarks