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Fairy was used to represent: an illusion or enchantment; the land of the Faes; collectively the inhabitants thereof; an individual such as a fairy knight. [1] Faie became Modern English fay, while faierie became fairy, but this spelling almost exclusively refers to one individual (the same meaning as fay).
The term fairy is peculiar to the English language and to English folklore, reflecting the conflation of Germanic, Celtic and Romance folklore and legend since the Middle English period (it is a Romance word which has been given the associations of fair by folk etymology secondarily).
Germanic lore featured light and dark elves (Ljósálfar and Dökkálfar).This may be roughly equivalent to later concepts such as the Seelie and Unseelie. [2]In the mid-thirteenth century, Thomas of Cantimpré classified fairies into neptuni of water, incubi who wandered the earth, dusii under the earth, and spiritualia nequitie in celestibus, who inhabit the air.
The modern Irish girl's name, Síofra, means an elvish or changeling child, deriving from Síobhra(í), meaning fairy(/fairies). The Aos sí, siabhra (commonly anglicised as "sheevra"), may be prone to evil and mischief. [22] [23] However, the Ulster folk song 'The Gartan Mother's Lullaby' also uses "sheevra" simply to mean "spirit" or "fairy ...
The European fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf in a painting by Carl Larsson in 1881. A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, [1] magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. [2] Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful ...
The East German Sandmännchen in a hot air balloon. The East German stop motion children's television programme Unser Sandmännchen (Our Little Sandman), based on Hans Christian Andersen's Ole Lukøje character and the story by E. T. A. Hoffmann, has been broadcast since 1959, along with a West German version which was discontinued after reunification.
Modern English (by the 17th century) fairy transferred the name of the realm of the fays to its inhabitants, [2] e.g., the expression fairie knight in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene refers to a "supernatural knight" or a "knight of Faerie" but was later re-interpreted as referring to a knight who is "a fairy". [3]
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature in European folklore. fairy ( faery , faerie or faërie ) may also refer to: Tradition and mythology