When thinking about fairies, we often lean toward the little, tiny female entities with charming laughs and small dragonfly types of wings. But what is a fairy, really?

What does Fay Mean And Where Does It Come From?

The word fay saw the light of day in the early Dark Ages. Its spelling varies from fae, fay, fey, and fairy, which all mean the same. We can also see lesser-known variations such as faerie, fairie, fayrye, and feirie.

However, the spelling faerie, adopted in Middle English, later became the word fairy. The word means “enchanted” or anything related to charm. The word itself, borrowed from Old French faerie, came from the same meaning, “realm of the fays.”