fairy

/ˈfɛri/

/ˈfɛəri/

Other forms: fairies

A fairy is a mythical, magical creature. Most fairies in stories are described as looking like tiny humans with wings.

Fairies show up in fables, myths, and fairy tales, usually as kind and lovely creatures with magical powers, although sometimes fairies are mischievous or even spiteful. In the folklore of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, a fairy was actually a malicious spirit. The earliest spelling was faerie, which meant both "the home of supernatural creatures" and "something incredible or fictitious," from the Latin fata, "the Fates."

Definitions of fairy

1. noun

   a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
   synonyms: faerie, faery, fay, sprite

   types:

   brownie, elf, gremlin, hob, imp, pixie, pixy

   (folklore) a small fairy-like creature that is somewhat mischievous

   fairy godmother

   a female character in some fairy stories who has magical powers and can bring unexpected good fortune to the hero or heroine

   dwarf, gnome

   a legendary creature resembling a tiny old man; lives in the depths of the earth and guards buried treasure

   Morgan le Fay

   (Arthurian legend) a wicked enchantress who was the half sister and enemy of King Arthur

   Puck, Robin Goodfellow

   a mischievous sprite of English folklore

   Oberson

   (Middle Ages) the king of the fairies and husband of Titania in medieval folklore

   Titania

   (Middle Ages) the queen of the fairies in medieval folklore

   tooth fairy

   a fairy that is said to leave money at night under a child's pillow to compensate for a baby tooth falling out

   water nymph, water spirit, water sprite

   a fairy that inhabits water

   Nibelung

   (German mythology) any of the race of dwarfs who possessed a treasure hoard that was stolen by Siegfried

   undine

   any of various female water spirits

   leprechaun

   a mischievous elf in Irish folklore

   sandman

   an elf in fairy stories who sprinkles sand in children's eyes to make them sleepy

   Andvari

   (Norse mythology) a dwarf who possessed a treasure that was stolen by Loki

   type of:

   spiritual being, supernatural being

   an incorporeal being believed to have powers to affect the course of human events
2. noun

   offensive term for an openly homosexual man
   type of:

   gay man

   a homosexual man