What is "fairy"

Fairy \Fair"y\, a.

1. Of or pertaining to fairies.

2. Given by fairies; as, fairy money.
   --Dryden.

   Fairy bird (Zo["o]l.), the Euoropean little tern ( Sterna minuta); -- called also sea swallow, and hooded tern.

   Fairy bluebird. (Zo["o]l.) See under Bluebird.

   Fairy martin (Zo["o]l.), a European swallow ( Hirrundo ariel) that builds flask-shaped nests of mud on overhanging cliffs.

   Fairy rings or Fairy circles, the circles formed in grassy lawns by certain fungi (as Marasmius Oreades), formerly supposed to be caused by fairies in their midnight dances; also, the mushrooms themselves. Such circles may have diameters larger than three meters.

   Fairy shrimp (Zo["o]l.), a European fresh-water phyllopod crustacean ( Chirocephalus diaphanus); -- so called from its delicate colors, transparency, and graceful motions. The name is sometimes applied to similar American species.

   Fairy stone (Paleon.), an echinite.

Fairy \Fair"y\, n.; pl. Fairies. [OE. fairie, faierie, enchantment, fairy folk, fairy, OF. faerie enchantment, F. f['e]er, fr. LL. Fata one of the goddesses of fate. See Fate, and cf. Fay a fairy.] [Written also fa["e]ry.]

1. Enchantment; illusion. [Obs.]
   --Chaucer.

   The God of her has made an end, And fro this worlde's fairy Hath taken her into company.
   --Gower.

2. The country of the fays; land of illusions. [Obs.]

   He [Arthur] is a king y-crowned in Fairy.
   --Lydgate.

3. An imaginary supernatural being or spirit, supposed to assume a human form (usually diminutive), either male or female, and to meddle for good or evil in the affairs of mankind; a fay. See Elf, and Demon.

   The fourth kind of spirit [is] called the Fairy.
   --K. James.

   And now about the caldron sing, Like elves and fairies in a ring.
   --Shak.

   5. An enchantress. [Obs.]
   --Shak.

   Fairy of the mine, an imaginary being supposed to inhabit mines, etc. German folklore tells of two species; one fierce and malevolent, the other gentle, See Kobold.

   No goblin or swart fairy of the mine Hath hurtful power over true virginity.
   --Milton.

c.1300, fairie, "the country or home of supernatural or legendary creatures; fairyland," also "something incredible or fictitious," from Old French faerie "land of fairies, meeting of fairies; enchantment, magic, witchcraft, sorcery" (12c.), from fae "fay," from Latin fata "the Fates," plural of fatum "that which is ordained; destiny, fate," from PIE *bha- "to speak" (see fame (n.)). Also compare fate (n.), also fay.\n\nIn ordinary use an elf differs from a fairy only in generally seeming young, and being more often mischievous.

[Century Dictionary]

\nBut that was before Tolkien. As a type of supernatural being from late 14c. [contra Tolkien; for example "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" (c.1300), as in Spenser, where faeries are heroic and human-sized. As a name for the diminutive winged beings in children's stories from early 17c.\n\nYet 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]

\nHence, figurative adjective use in reference to lightness, fineness, delicacy. Slang meaning "effeminate male homosexual" is recorded by 1895. Fairy ring, of certain fungi in grass fields (as we would explain it now), is from 1590s. Fairy godmother attested from 1820. Fossil Cretaceous sea urchins found on the English downlands were called fairy loaves, and a book from 1787 reports that "country people" in England called the stones of the old Roman roads fairy pavements.

n. 1 (context uncountable obsolete English) the realm of faerie; enchantment, illusion. 2 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. 3 (context Northern England US derogatory colloquial English) a male homosexual, especially one who is effeminate. 4 (context paganism English) A nature spirit revered in modern paganism. 5 Two species of hummingbird in the genus Heliothryx.

1. n. small, human in form, playful, having magical powers [syn: faery, faerie, sprite]

2. offensive terms for an openly homosexual man [syn: fagot, faggot, fag, nance, pansy, queen, queer, poof, poove, pouf]

A fairy (also fay, fae, fair folk; from faery, faerie, "realm of the fays") is a type of mythical being or legendary creature in European folklore, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural.

A fairy is a spirit or supernatural being in late Medieval folklore and romance.

The word fairy (faery, faerie or faërie) may also mean:

Fairy is a brand of washing-up liquid produced by Procter & Gamble at their West Thurrock factory (The London Plant), in England, launched in 1950. Fairy liquid is traditionally green, prompting the well-known advertising jingle "Now hands that do dishes can feel as soft as your face with mild green Fairy Liquid".

As of 2015, Fairy is sold in most parts of Europe, although regional names vary. Fairy liquid is available in a variety of colour and scent combinations. The original white bottle with red cap was replaced with PET bottles.

In the UK, Fairy Liquid has become a genericized trademark for washing up liquid.

Fairy soap bars were originally manufactured by Thomas Hedley Co. of Newcastle upon Tyne which was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1927.

Fairies, in the fantasy series Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, are fictional beings, usually shorter than a human, who possess magic properties. The average height of a fairy is exactly 1 metre, one centimetre. All the fairies have retreated below the Earth to escape the destructiveness of the human race. Their underground civilization is centered on the capital city of Haven. Fairies are vernacularly known as the People, and live a life according to the Book of the People. There are 8 recognized families of fairies- Elves, Dwarves, Pixies, Gnomes, Gremlins, Goblins, Sprites and Demons. However, the centaurs have been mentioned several times, as with trolls, and the centaurs' cousins, the unicorns, were killed off, yet they are not recognized.