Where does “Fairy” come from?
Fairy (English) comes from Middle English faierie, from Old French faerie, from Old French fae, from Latin fāta, from Latin fātum, from Latin fātus, from Latin for, from Proto-Italic fāōr — to speak, to be talking.
Fairy (English): A mythical being of human form with magical powers, known in many sizes and descriptions, although typically depicted as a small sprite with gauze-like wings, especially one that is female. Fairies are revered in some modern forms of paganism
Definitions
- A mythical being of human form with magical powers, known in many sizes and descriptions, although typically depicted as a small sprite with gauze-like wings, especially one that is female. Fairies are revered in some modern forms of paganism
Ancestry of “Fairy”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | faierie | The land or domain in which magical or mythological creatures live; the Otherworld |
| 2 | Old French | faerie | the sphere or realm of enchantment, magic or... |
| 3 | Old French | fae | — |
| 4 | Latin | fāta | Fate; Moira; goddess who controls destiny; divine personification of fate |
| 5 | Latin | fātum | destiny, fate, lot |
| 6 | Latin | fātus | spoken, said, told, foretold, related, predicted; having or had spoken, etc |
| 7 | Latin | for | "defective"; I speak, talk, say |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | fāōr | speak |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰéh₂ti | to speak, to be talking |