A fairy (also faery, faerie, fay, fae; euphemistically wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair folk, etc.) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.
Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term fairy offers many definitions. Sometimes the term describes any magical creature, including goblins or gnomes: at other times, the term only describes a specific type of more ethereal creature.
Read more about Fairy: Etymology, Characteristics, Fairies in Literature and Legend, Fairies in Art
Famous quotes containing the word fairy:
“Fierce war and faithful love,
And truth severe, by fairy fiction dressed.”
—Thomas Gray (1716–1771)
“The fairy queen
Bids you increase that loving humour more.
They that have not yet fed
On delight amorous,
She vows that they shall lead
Apes in Avernus.”
—Thomas Campion (1567–1620)
“Fairy tales are loved by the child not because the imagery he finds in them conforms to what goes on within him, but because—despite all the angry, anxious thoughts in his mind to which the fairy tale gives body and specific content—these stories always result in a happy outcome, which the child cannot imagine on his own.”
—Bruno Bettelheim (20th century)