fairyとは

意味・読み方・使い方

語源

From Middle English fairye, fairie, from Old French faerie, from fae + -erie, from Vulgar Latin *Fāta (“goddess of fate”), from Latin fātum (“fate”). Equivalent to fey +‎ -ry.

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.

発音

• (Received 発音) IPA^(key): /ˈfɛə̯ɹi/
• (General American) enPR: fârʹē
  • (Mary–marry–merry distinction) IPA^(key): /ˈfɛə̯ɹi/
  • (Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA^(key): /ˈfɛɹi/
• 韻: -ɛəɹi
• Homophone: ferry (in accents with the Mary-marry-merry merger)

名詞

fairy (countable かつ uncountable, 複数形 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.
   • 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, H.L. Brækstad, transl., Folk and Fairy Tales, page 51:

     "They used to say there were fairies in that hill, I must tell you!"

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.

同意語

• (supernatural creature): fay, fey, fae, sprite; see also goblin (hostile)
• (male homosexual): fag (米国用法), faggot (米国用法), poof (英国用法), queen

派生語

形容詞

fairy (comparative more fairy, superlative most fairy)

1. Like a fairy; fanciful, whimsical, delicate.
   • 1831, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Romance and Reality, volume 2, page 287: