fairy
n. countablen. a small, magical creature from old stories that usually has wings and special powers. They are often shown as tiny people who live in nature.
n. a mythical being of folklore and romance, typically depicted as having a diminutive human form and possessing magical powers. Often associated with nature and the supernatural.
The child believes a fairy lives at the bottom of the garden.
In many traditional European folk tales, a fairy might help a hero or play a trick on a traveler.
The author draws heavily on Celtic mythology, populating the forest with a variety of fairy creatures that are far more dangerous than those found in modern children's books.
From Middle English faierie, fairie, from Old French faerie, from fae + -erie, from Latin fāta (“goddess of fate”). Equivalent to fay + -ry. Attested in English from about 1330, in King Alisaunder, first in the sense of "enchantment, illusion, dream" ("that thou herdest is fairye") and shortly thereafter "realm of the fays, fairy-land" and "the inhabitants of fairyland, collectively". The re-interpretation of the term as a countable noun denoting individual inhabitants of fairy-land can be traced to the 1390s, but became common only in the 16th century, perhaps due to reinterpreting phrases like faerie knight.
Commonly used in the compound noun 'fairy tale' to describe a children's story involving magic.