Fairy FA'IRY, n.
[The origin of this word is not obvious, and the radical letters are uncertain. the conjectures of Baxter, Jamieson and others throw no satisfactory light on the subject.]
1. A fay; an imaginary being or spirit, supposed to assume a human form, dance in meadows, steal infants and play a variety of pranks. [See Elf and Demon.]
2. An enchantress.
Fairy of the mine, an imaginary being supposed to inhabit mines, wandering about in the drifts and chambers, always employed in cutting ore, turning the windlass, etc., yet effecting nothing. The Germans believe in two species; one fierce and malevolent; the other gentle. [See Cobalt.]
Fairy ring or circle, a phenomenon observed in fields, vulgarly supposed to be caused by fairies in their dances. This circle is of two kinds; one about seven yards in diameter, containing a round bare path, a foot broad, with green grass in the middle; the other of different size, encompassed with grass.
FA'IRY, a.
1. Belonging to fairies; as fairy land
2. Given by fairies; as fairy money or favors.

fairy n 1: a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers [syn: fairy, faery, faerie, fay, sprite] 2: offensive term for an openly homosexual man [syn: fagot, faggot, fag, fairy, nance, pansy, queen, queer, poof, poove, pouf]

fairy c.1300, "enchantment, magic," from O.Fr. faerie "land of fairies, meeting of fairies, enchantment, magic," from fae "fay," from L. fata (pl.) "the Fates." In ref. to a class of supernatural beings, the word is used from 1393. The slang meaning "effeminate male homosexual" is first recorded 1895. Fairy tale "oral narrative centered on magical tests, quests, and transformations" (1749) translates Fr. Conte de fe?s of Madame d'Aulnois (1698, translated into Eng. 1699). Fairy ring is from 1599. Fossil sea urchins found on the Eng. downlands were called fairy loaves.

fairy noun (plural fairies) Etymology: Middle English fairie fairyland, enchantment, from Anglo-French faerie, from fee fairy, from Latin Fata, goddess of fate, from fatum fate Date: 14th century 1. a mythical being of folklore and romance usually having diminutive human form and magic powers 2. usually disparaging a male homosexual • fairy adjective • fairylike adjective

fairy
n. & adj.
--n. (pl. -ies)
1 a small imaginary being with magical powers.
2 sl. derog. a male homosexual.
--adj. of fairies, fairy-like, delicate, small.
Phrases and idioms:
fairy cake a small individual iced sponge cake. fairy cycle a small bicycle for a child. fairy godmother a benefactress. fairy lights small coloured lights esp. for outdoor decoration. fairy ring a ring of darker grass caused by fungi. fairy story (or tale)
1 a tale about fairies.
2 an incredible story; a fabrication.
Derivatives:
fairy-like adj.
Etymology: ME f. OF faerie f. fae FAY

fairy (fairies) 1. A fairy is an imaginary creature with magical powers. Fairies are often represented as small people with wings. N-COUNT 2. If someone describes a man as a fairy, they mean that he is a homosexual and they disapprove of this. (OFFENSIVE, OLD-FASHIONED) N-COUNT [disapproval]

fairy ˈfɛərɪ n. & adj. --n. (pl. -ies) 1 a small imaginary being with magical powers. 2 sl. derog. a male homosexual. --adj. of fairies, fairy-like, delicate, small. øfairy cake a small individual iced sponge cake. fairy cycle a small bicycle for a child. fairy godmother a benefactress. fairy lights small coloured lights esp. for outdoor decoration. fairy ring a ring of darker grass caused by fungi. fairy story (or tale) 1 a tale about fairies. 2 an incredible story; a fabrication. øøfairy-like adj. [ME f. OF faerie f. fae FAY]

FAIRY They're fairies! he that speaks to them shall die: I'll wink and couch; no man their sports must eye. Merry Wives of Windsor, Act v. Sc. 5. SHAKESPEARE. This is the fairy land: O, spite of spites! We talk with goblins, owls, and elvish sprites. Comedy of Errors, Act ii. Sc. 2. SHAKESPEARE. In silence sad, Trip we after the night's shade: We the globe can compass soon, Swifter than the wand'ring moon. Midsummer Night's Dream, Act iv. Sc. 1. SHAKESPEARE. Fairies, black, gray, green, and white, You moonshine revellers, and shades of night. Merry Wives of Windsor, Act v. Sc. 5. SHAKESPEARE. Fairies use flowers for their charactery. Merry Wives of Windsor, Act v. Sc. 5. SHAKESPEARE. "Scarlet leather, sewn together, This will make a shoe. Left, right, pull it tight; Summer days are warm; Underground in winter, Laughing at the storm!" Lay your ear close to the hill, Do you not catch the tiny clamor, Busy click of an elfin hammer, Voice of the Leprecaun singing shrill As he merrily plies his trade? He's a span And quarter in height. Get him in sight, hold him fast, And you're a made Man! The Fairy Shoemaker. W. ALLINGHAM. Some say no evil thing that walks by night, In fog, or fire, by lake or moorish fen, Blue meagre hag, or stubborn unlaid ghost That breaks his magic chains at curfew time, No goblin, or swart fairy of the mine, Hath hurtful power o'er true virginity. Comus. MILTON. I took it for a faery vision Of some gay creatures of the element, That in the colors of the rainbow live And play i' th' plighted clouds. Comus. MILTON. Oft fairy elves, Whose midnight revels by a forest side, Or fountain, some belated peasant sees, Or dreams he sees, while overhead the moon Sits arbitress, and nearer to the earth Wheels her pale course, they on their mirth and dance Intent, with jocund music charm his ear; At once with joy and fear his heart rebounds. Paradise Lost, Bk. I. MILTON.

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 circles, the circles formed in grassy lawns by certain fungi (as Marasmius Oreades), formerly supposed to be caused by fairies in their midnight dances. 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.

fairy a. Fay, elf, pigwidgeon.

95 Moby Thesaurus words for "fairy": Ariel, Befind, Corrigan, Finnbeara, Mab, Oberon, Titania, air, auntie, banshee, bi-guy, bisexual, brownie, bubble, bull dyke, butch, catamite, chaff, chicken, chip, cluricaune, cobweb, cork, down, dust, dwarf, dyke, elf, elfin, elfish, elflike, ether, faery, fag, faggot, fairy queen, fairyish, fairylike, fay, feather, femme, flit, flue, fluff, foam, fricatrice, froth, fruit, fuzz, gnome, gnomelike, gnomish, goblin, gossamer, gremlin, gunsel, hob, homo, homophile, homosexual, homosexualist, imp, invert, kobold, leprechaun, lesbian, mote, nance, ouphe, pansy, pathic, peri, pixie, pixieish, pooka, puca, puck, punk, pwca, queen, queer, sapphist, sponge, sprite, spume, straw, sylph, sylphid, sylphidine, sylphine, sylphish, sylphlike, sylphy, thistledown, tribade

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