fairy

The word “fairy” means a small, magical being of human shape, often shown with wings in folklore and fiction. In plain terms, a small magical creature from folklore and fantasy stories.

“Fairy” is pronounced FEH-uh-ree (/ˈfɛəɹi/ in IPA).

Here is “fairy” used in a sentence: “The children left a note for the tooth fairy.”

“Fairy” is a noun.

The word “fairy” comes from Old French. From Old French faerie, "enchantment," built from fae ("fay") plus "-erie." Originally meant the state of enchantment itself before coming to mean an individual magical creature.

“Fairy” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

'Fairy' is the broad term for a small, magical, human-shaped being of folklore, often shown with wings. A pixie is a more specific figure from English folklore, usually portrayed as tiny, mischievous, and typically wingless, so a pixie is often treated as one kind of fairy.

The correct plural is 'fairies'. Because the word ends in a consonant plus y, the y changes to i before adding -es, following the same rule as 'city' to 'cities'.

'Fairy' is the standard modern spelling. 'Faerie' (or 'faery') is an older, literary spelling that writers use deliberately to evoke traditional folklore, and it can also refer to the enchanted realm where fairies live rather than one being.

As a noun, it is traditionally written as two words: 'she read a fairy tale'. When used as an adjective before a noun it is usually hyphenated, as in 'a fairy-tale ending', though the single word 'fairytale' is also common, particularly in British English.