different between pixie vs leprechaun

English

Etymology

Uncertain; see Wikipedia.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /?p?ksi/
• Rhymes: -?ksi
• Hyphenation: pix?ie

Noun

pixie (plural pixies)

1. (mythology, fantasy literature, fairy tales) A playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature.

   Synonyms: brownie, fair, gnome, imp, sprite

   • 2005, Dan Keding, The Pixies’ Bed, Dan Keding, Amy Douglas (editors), English Folktales, page 98,

     Then she saw pixies — dozens and dozens of pixies — dancing and singing.

   • 2005, Kathryn Reyes, Mystery Door Manor and the Dragon Realm, page 72,

     When she looked around, Mary saw four pixies flying toward her. She had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit. Then the pixies turned around and attacked again.

   • 2007, Jeremy Phillips, The Wizardon Star, page 165,

     The servant that had raised him, an elderly pixie called Rolog, had died. On his deathbed he had called the young Captain to his side. Seeing the pixie dying had had no effect on him.

   • 2010, Sandra A. Filbin, The Enchanted World: A Tooth Fairy's Tale, page 49,

     Tiffy froze as the two pixies looked directly into each other's eyes.

     Then Tiffy raised her hand and said, “Hi, I'm Tiffy the Tooth Fairy.” Even though the other pixie lifted her hand too, she didn't answer.

2. (slang) A cute, petite woman with short hair.
   • 2006, Darnell Arnoult, Sufficient Grace, page 186,

     Then a pixie appears in the visitor window, round face, big brown eyes framed in thick liner, a tiny turned-up nose, red lips, inch-long blue-black hair so popular with the avant-garde.

   • 2009, Nicole Baart, The Moment Between, page 1,

     Petite and narrow-waisted, with a pixie flip of hair the exact color of coffee beans, Abigail could easily pass for sixteen in a pair of ripped jeans and an Abercrombie T-shirt.

   • 2010, Mary Jo Ignoffo, Captive of the Labyrinth: Sarah L. Winchester, Heiress to the Rifle Fortune, page 196,

     Petite in the extreme, not even reaching five feet tall, Winchester at her most robust had approached one hundred pounds. No longer the bright-eyed, sophisticated pixie that Isaiah Taber had photographed so many years earlier, Winchester showed a different picture altogether as she lay dying, her fingers and toes knotted and knurled from years of destruction by the painful arthritis.

   • 2011, L. E. Newell, Durty South Grind, page 138,

     Like magic, Carla transformed from the dainty pixie into a hardcore, no-nonsense businesswoman right before his eyes.

3. (astronomy, meteorology) An upper-atmospheric optical phenomenon associated with thunderstorms, a short-lasting pinpoint of light on the surface of convective domes that produces a gnome.

Alternative forms

• pigsie (obsolete, Celtic mythology)
• piskie
• pisky
• pixy

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

• pixie on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Dongxiang

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p?i??i??/, [p?i???i??]

Etymology

From Proto-Mongolic *büse. Compare Mongolian ??? (büs)

Alternative forms

• pijie

Noun

pixie

1. belt

English

Alternative forms

• lepracaun

Etymology

From Irish leipreachán, luprachán, from Middle Irish luchrupán, from Old Irish luchorpán. See also Irish lucharachán.

The word's further etymology is disputed; it is traditionally explained as a compound containing lú (“small”, from Proto-Indo-European *h?leng??-) + corp (“body”, which is from Latin corpus). However, an alternative suggestion is that it is a derivative of Latin Luperc? (“priests of Lupercus”), who were misinterpreted as an antediluvian species by medieval Irish scholars.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?l?p??k??n/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?l?pr??k?n/, /?l?pr??k?n/

Noun

leprechaun (plural leprechauns)

1. (Irish folklore) One of a race of elves that can reveal hidden treasure to those who catch them.

Derived terms

Translations

References

Further reading

• leprechaun on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Italian

Alternative forms

• leprecano, lepricauno, leprecauno (adapted forms)

Etymology

Borrowed from English leprechaun, from Irish leipreachán, luprachán, from Middle Irish luchrupán, from Old Irish luchorpán, of disputed etymology.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?l?.pre.kon/, /?l?.pri.kon/

Noun

leprechaun m (invariable)

1. (Irish folklore) leprechaun

   Synonyms: gnomo irlandese, folletto irlandese

Derived terms

• leprechaunismo