different between fairy vs elfe

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 Middle English elfe, from Old English ielfen, feminine of ielf (“elf”).

Noun

elfe (plural elfen or elfene)

1. (obsolete) A female elf, a fairy, nymph

   • Scho was so faire & so fresche, as faucon hire semed, An elfe out of an-othire erde, or ellis an Aungell. — The Wars of Alexander, 1450

   (She was so fair and happy and seemed elegant, an elfe from another world or else an angel.)

   • He was takyn with an elfe ... When the clok stroke twelf was he forshapyn. — The Towneley Plays, 1500

References

1. MED, elf, elve(n)

Anagrams

• feel, fele, flee, leef

Esperanto

Etymology

elfo (“elf”) +? -e (“adverb”)

Adverb

elfe

1. in an elfin manner, elvishly
2. in Elvish (language)

Related terms

• elfa (“elfen”)
• elfo (“elf”)

French

Etymology

Swedish älf, from Old Norse alfr, compare Old English ælf. Originated from Indo-European Proto-Indo-European *h?elb?ós (“brilliant, shining white”) via Proto-Germanic *albiz (“elf”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?lf/
• Homophone: elfes

Noun

elfe m (plural elfes)

1. elf

Derived terms

• elfique

Further reading

• “elfe” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• fêle, fêlé

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English ælf.

Noun

elfe

1. Alternative form of elf

Etymology 2

From Old English ælfen.

Noun

elfe

1. Alternative form of elven