# fairy

Pronunciation: say "FAIR-ee" US /ˈfɛɹ.i/, UK /ˈfɛəɹi/

## Noun

1. A mythical being of human form with magical powers, pictured in many sizes and forms, though modern illustrations often show only a tiny sprite with gauzy wings, especially a female one.
   - Simple: A magical being from old stories that looks like a person, often shown as a tiny girl with wings.
   - _People in the valley believed that fairies lived inside the green mound behind the church._
   - _In the story, a fairy grants the girl three wishes but warns her to choose carefully._
3. Offensive: an insulting word for a gay man, or for a man or boy regarded as effeminate. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A rude and hurtful word for a gay man, or a man seen as acting like a woman.

## Adjective

2. Like a fairy in being fanciful, whimsical, or delicate.
   - Simple: Delicate, playful, or full of magic, like a fairy.
   - _The old woman's lacework was of such fairy delicacy that visitors were afraid to touch it._
   - _The dancer crossed the stage with a fairy lightness, barely seeming to touch the floor._

## Noun

4. The land of the fairies; also, enchantment or illusion. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: The magic land of fairies, or magic that fools people.

## Other meanings

- (noun) An immortal being of Chinese legend.
- (noun) A charming, enchanting woman, especially an attractive young one.
- (noun) A hummingbird belonging to either of two species in the genus Heliothryx.

## Origin

Latin fāta ("goddess of fate") lies behind Old French fae, which with -erie formed faerie, the source of Middle English faierie or fairie. In English terms it is fay + -ry. Records start around 1330, when it meant "enchantment, illusion, dream," and soon after it also meant "fairyland" and the people of fairyland as a group. Calling a single inhabitant a fairy dates to the 1390s but only caught on in the 16th century, perhaps through phrases like faerie knight.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/fairy (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).