fairy
Listen:Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
fairy/ˈfeəri/
▶noun (pl. fairies)
- 1 a small imaginary being of human form that has magical powers.
- 2 a Central and South American hummingbird with a green back and long tail. [Genus Heliothryx: two species.]
- 3 informal, derogatory a male homosexual.
– derivatives
fairylike adjective.
fairylike adjective.
– origin ME (denoting fairyland): from OFr. faerie, from fae ‘a fairy’, from L. fata ‘the Fates’, pl. of fatum (see fate).
'fairy' also found in these Oxford entries:
airy-fairy
- Bluebeard
- branchiopod
- brine shrimp
- chanticleer
- Cinderella
- faerie
- fairy cake
- fairy floss
- fairy godmother
- fairy lights
- fairy ring
- fairy shrimp
- fairy story
- fairy tale
- Fata Morgana
- fay
- peri
- Prince Charming
- serendipity
- sprite
- tom thumb
- tooth fairy
- ugly duckling
- wizard
