different between fairy vs brownie

English

Alternative forms

• faery
• faerie
• færie (archaic, nonstandard)
• fairie

Etymology

From Middle English fairye, fairie, from Old French faerie, from fae + -erie, from Vulgar Latin *F?ta (“goddess of fate”), from Latin f?tum (“fate”). Equivalent to Fate +? -ery.

English from ca. 1300, first in the sense of "enchantment, illusion, dream" and later "realm of the fays, fairy-land" or "the inhabitants of fairyland as a collective".The re-interpretation of the term as a countable noun denoting individual inhabitants of fairy-land can be traced to the 1390s, but becomes common only in the 16th century.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?f????i/
• (General American) enPR: fâr??
  • (Mary–marry–merry distinction) IPA^(key): /?f????i/
  • (Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA^(key): /?f??i/
• Rhymes: -???i
• Homophone: ferry (in accents with the Mary-marry-merry merger)

Noun

fairy (countable and uncountable, plural fairies)

1. (uncountable, obsolete) The realm of faerie; enchantment, illusion.
2. A mythical being with magical powers, known in many sizes and descriptions, although often depicted in modern illustrations only as a small sprite with gauze-like wings, and revered in some modern forms of paganism.
3. An enchantress, or creature of overpowering charm.
4. (Northern England, US, derogatory, colloquial) A male homosexual, especially one who is effeminate.
   • 1933, Nathanael West, 'Miss Lonelyhearts' [Miss Lonelyhearts is male.]

     The cripple returned the smile and stuck out his hand. Miss Lonelyhearts clasped it, and they stood this way, smiling and holding hands, until Mrs. Doyle reëntered the room.
     "What a sweet pair of fairies you guys are," she said.
     The cripple pulled his hand away and made as though to strike his wife.

5. A member of two species of hummingbird in the genus Heliothryx.

Synonyms

• (supernatural creature): fay, fey, fae, sprite; see also goblin (hostile)
• (male homosexual): fag (US), faggot (US), poof (UK), queen

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

fairy

1. Like a fairy; fanciful, whimsical, delicate.

English

Etymology

From brown +? -ie (“diminutive suffix”).

Pronunciation

• (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?b?a?ni/
• Rhymes: -a?ni
• Hyphenation: brown?ie

Noun

brownie (plural brownies)

1. (cooking) A small square piece of rich cake, usually made with chocolate.
   • 2000, Lori Gottlieb, Stick Figure: a diary of my former self, page 173,

     […] if she ever found out she was dying, she'd just eat brownies all day and night until the very end.

   • 2005, Aaron Lazare, On Apology, unnumbered page,

     On a Saturday afternoon, my wife bought her favorite treat for dessert that evening, a gourmet, nut-filled brownie.

   • 2005, Steve Otto, Memoirs of a Drugged-Up, Sex-Crazed Yippie, page 228,

     After cooking the brownies until we could smell the pot, we each ate a large brownie.

2. (folklore) A mythical creature, a helpful elf who would secretly do people's housework for them.
   • 1908, Dinah Craik, The Adventures of A Brownie.
   • 1985, The Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 1, page 636,

     Stories were told of a brownie riding horseback to fetch the midwife at childbirth or helping his master to win at checkers.

   • 2004, Justin Hocking, Jeffrey Knutson, Jared Jacang Maher (editors), Life and Limb: Skateboarders Write from the Deep End, page 37,

     There are no brownies in my house, though. I know because there's always a pile of dishes in the sink.

3. (paganism) A household spirit or revered ancestor.
4. Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the Eurasian genus Miletus.
5. (informal) A brown trout (Salmo trutta).
6. (informal) The widow rockfish (Sebastes entomelas), a fish in the family Sebastidae.

   Coordinate term: greenie

7. (Australia, New Zealand, colloquial) A tall, long-necked beer bottle, made from brown coloured glass.
8. (ethnic slur, offensive) A person of Arab, Indian or Hispanic descent. Sometimes used for a Native American or Pacific Islander.
9. (US) A girl in the first level of girl scouts.

Derived terms

• chocolate brownie
• hash brownie

Translations

Descendants

• ? French: brownie
• ? German: Brownie

Further reading

• brownie on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Chocolate brownie on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English brownie.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b?o.ni/, /b??.ni/

Noun

brownie f (plural brownies)

1. brownie (type of small chocolate cake)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowed from English brownie.

Noun

brownie m (definite singular brownien, indefinite plural browniar, definite plural browniane)

1. brownie (type of small chocolate cake)

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English brownie.

Noun

brownie m (plural brownies)

1. brownie (type of small chocolate cake)

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English brownie.

Noun

brownie m (plural brownies)

1. brownie

Derived terms

• brownie rubia (“blondie”)