Where does “fairyland” come from?
fairyland (English) comes from English Fairy, from Middle English faierie, from Old French faerie, from Old French fae, from Latin fāta, from Latin fātum, from Latin fātus, from Latin for — to speak, to be talking.
fairyland (English): The imaginary land or abode of fairies; Any...
Definitions
- The imaginary land or abode of fairies; Any...
Ancestry of “fairyland”, step by step
fairyland traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Fairy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Fairy | 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 |
| 2 | Middle English | faierie | The land or domain in which magical or mythological creatures live; the Otherworld |
| 3 | Old French | faerie | the sphere or realm of enchantment, magic or... |
| 4 | Old French | fae | — |
| 5 | Latin | fāta | Fate; Moira; goddess who controls destiny; divine personification of fate |
| 6 | Latin | fātum | destiny, fate, lot |
| 7 | Latin | fātus | spoken, said, told, foretold, related, predicted; having or had spoken, etc |
| 8 | Latin | for | "defective"; I speak, talk, say |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | fāōr | speak |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰéh₂ti | to speak, to be talking |