fairy

fair·y

A little girl dressed as a fairy.

noun

The definition of a fairy is a tiny, magical, make-believe human-like creature with wings, or is an offensive slang term of contempt for a male homosexual.

An example of a fairy is Tinker Bell.

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"fairy." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fairy>.

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fairy. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fairy

fairy

noun

pl. fair′ies

Folklore a being usually in human form and having magic powers, specif. one that is tiny, graceful, and delicate
Slang a male homosexual: term of contempt or derision

Origin of fairy

ME, fairyland, fairy from Old French faerie from fée: see fay

of fairies
fairylike; graceful; delicate

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MLA Style

"fairy." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fairy>.

APA Style

fairy. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fairy

fairy

noun

pl. fair·ies

An imaginary being in human form, depicted as clever, mischievous, and possessing magical powers.
Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a gay man.

Origin of fairy

Middle English fairie fairyland, enchanted being from Old French faerie from fae fairy from Vulgar Latin Fāta goddess of fate from Latin fāta the Fates pl. of fātum fate ; see fate .

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"fairy." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fairy>.

APA Style

fairy. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fairy

Noun

(plural fairies)

A mythical being who had magical powers, known in many sizes and descriptions, although often depicted in modern illustrations only as small and spritely with gauze-like wings; A sprite.
(Northern England, US, derogatory, colloquial) a male homosexual, especially one who is effeminate.
(paganism) A nature spirit revered in modern paganism.

Origin

From Middle English fairie, from Old French faerie, the -erie abstract of fae, from Vulgar Latin Fāta (“goddess of fate”), from Latin fātum (“fate”)

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.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.