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fairy

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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EnglishWikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
A painting of afairy.

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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FromMiddle Englishfaierie,fairie, fromOld Frenchfaerie, fromfae +-erie, fromLatinfāta(“goddess of fate”). Equivalent tofay +‎-ry. Attested in English from about 1330, inKing Alisaunder, first in the sense of "enchantment, illusion, dream" ("that thou herdest is fairye") and shortly thereafter "realm of the fays, fairy-land" and "the inhabitants of fairyland, collectively".[1] The re-interpretation of the term as a countable noun denoting individual inhabitants of fairy-land can be traced to the 1390s,[1] but became common only in the 16th century, perhaps due to reinterpreting phrases likefaerie knight.[2]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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fairy (countable anduncountable,pluralfairies)

  1. (uncountable, obsolete) The realm offaerie; enchantment, illusion.
  2. (mythology) Amythical being of human form withmagical powers, known in many sizes and descriptions, although often depicted in modern illustrations only as a smallsprite withgauze-likewings, especially one that is female. Fairies are revered in some modern forms ofpaganism.
    • 1886,Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad,Folk and Fairy Tales, page51:
      "They used to say there werefairies in that hill, I must tell you!"
  3. Anenchantress, or creature of overpoweringcharm.
  4. (British, obsolete, colloquial) An attractive young woman.
    • 1920,H. C. McNeile "Snapper",'Bulldog Drummond'‎[1]:
      "When are we going to see thisfairy?" demanded Algy.
      "You, personally, never. You're far too immoral. I might let the others look at her from a distance in a year or two."
    • 1942,Dennis Wheatley,'Gunmen, Gallants and Ghosts'‎[2]:
      As she took out her key she was quite unaware that three pairs of eyes were watching her with interest from across the street. [...]
      ‘Strewth–’e ain’t ‘arf got afairy this time,’ remarked the husky Mr. Clegg.
  5. (Northern England, US, derogatory, colloquial) Amalehomosexual, especially one who iseffeminate.
  6. (derogatory) Aneffeminateman orboy.
    • 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 offairies you guys are," she said.
      The cripple pulled his hand away and made as though to strike his wife.
    • 1957,Jack Kerouac, chapter 4, inOn the Road, Viking Press,→OCLC, part 3:
      We saw a horrible sight in the bar: a white hipsterfairy had come in wearing a Hawaiian shirt and was asking the big drummer if he could sit in.
    • 1989, Marshall Kirk, Hunter Madsen,After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the '90s, Doubleday Books,page20:
      Wimpy names—e.g., Cecil, Clarence, and Wendell—also seem to carry homosexual overtones, because we all know thatfairies are meek and wimpy, just as we know that all wimps are ‘fags’ in one sense or the other.
  7. A member of two species ofhummingbird in the genusHeliothryx.
  8. AlegendaryChineseimmortal.
    Synonyms:xian,immortal

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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mythical being
(derogatory slang) effeminate male homosexual

Adjective

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fairy (comparativemorefairy,superlativemostfairy)

  1. Like a fairy;fanciful,whimsical,delicate.
    • 1831,L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XX, inRomance and Reality. […], volume II, London:Henry Colburn andRichard Bentley, […],→OCLC,page287:
      ….—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 mostfairy tale of the White Cat:—all bespoke a lady's room.

References

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  1. ↑1.01.1James A. H. Murrayet al., editors (1884–1928), “Fairy”, inA New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London:Clarendon Press,→OCLC.
  2. ^Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “fairy”, inOnline Etymology Dictionary.

Spanish

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SpanishWikipedia has an article on:
Wikipediaes
Two bottles of Fairy

Etymology

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Fromgenericized trademarkFairy.

Noun

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fairy m (uncountable)

  1. (Spain)washing-up liquid,dish soap
    Synonyms:lavavajillas,lavavajillas líquido
    • 2022 January 23, Janire Manzanas, “¿Se pueden limpiar las gafas conFairy?”, inOkDiario‎[3]:
      Sin embargo, no siempre tenemos una gamuza a mano, así que recurrimos a otras soluciones, como limpiar las gafas conFairy y agua.
      However, we don't always have a chamois on hand, so we turn to other solutions, such as cleaning the glasses withFairy and water.
    • 2019 March 5, “Así es la "trampa delFairy" de Millo que desata las risas en redes”, inEl Plural‎[4]:
      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 delFairy" 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.
      (pleaseadd an English translation of this quotation)
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