fairy /ˈfæri, ˈfɛr-/
小精靈,仙女(a.)幻想的
Fair·y n.; pl. Fairies [Written also faëry.]
1. Enchantment; illusion. [Obs.]
The God of her has made an end,
And fro this worlde's fairy
Hath taken her into company. --Gower.
2. The country of the fays; land of illusions. [Obs.]
He [Arthur] is a king y-crowned in Fairy. --Lydgate.
3. An imaginary supernatural being or spirit, supposed to assume a human form (usually diminutive), either male or female, and to meddle for good or evil in the affairs of mankind; a fay. See Elf, and Demon.
The fourth kind of spirit [is] called the Fairy. --K. James.
And now about the caldron sing,
Like elves and fairies in a ring. --Shak.
5. An enchantress. [Obs.]
Fairy of the mine, an imaginary being supposed to inhabit mines, etc. German folklore tells of two species; one fierce and malevolent, the other gentle, See Kobold.
No goblin or swart fairy of the mine
Hath hurtful power over true virginity. --Milton.
Fair·y, a.
1. Of or pertaining to fairies.
2. Given by fairies; as, fairy money.
Fairy bird Zool., the Euoropean little tern (Sterna minuta); -- called also sea swallow, and hooded tern.
Fairy bluebird. Zool. See under Bluebird.
Fairy martin Zool., a European swallow (Hirrundo ariel) that builds flask-shaped nests of mud on overhanging cliffs.
Fairy rings or Fairy circles, the circles formed in grassy lawns by certain fungi (as Marasmius Oreades), formerly supposed to be caused by fairies in their midnight dances; also, the mushrooms themselves. Such circles may have diameters larger than three meters.
Fairy shrimp Zool., a European fresh-water phyllopod crustacean (Chirocephalus diaphanus); -- so called from its delicate colors, transparency, and graceful motions. The name is sometimes applied to similar American species.
Fairy stone Paleon., an echinite.
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fairy
n 1: small, human in form, playful, having magical powers [syn: faery,
faerie, sprite]
2: offensive terms for an openly homosexual man [syn: fagot,
faggot, fag, nance, pansy, queen, queer, poof,
poove, pouf]