Fairy is the English word derived, by way of the French fee, fromt he Latin fatare meaning 'to enchant'. Variations on fairy include fayerye, fairye, fayre, and faery.

 

The word faerie was originally the term for enchantment and only latterly came to refer  to the race.  It was more common to refer to a fay or fays. Side by side with the Latin derived term ‘fairy’ is the term PUCk, PHOOKA, POUKE, or PIGHT. It has been argued that this is the Celtic designation, but this is unlikely since variations occur in Germanic, Scandinavian and Slavonic countries.

 

Some folklorists think that the whole concept of fairies originated  in Italy with the Fatae or FATES and spread with the Roman Empire. These original Fates controlled  the destinies of humankind, bestowing gifts upon newborn children---a concept recognizable in FAIRY GODMOTHERS---measuring their adult lives and finally ending them.

 

Fairies inhabit a realm which impinges on the human one, but which is rarely glimpsed. Fairies themselves are rarely seen, except under particular circumstances, at certain times, or by the use of certain herbs, potions, or magic objects.

 

In the past it was considered unlucky to name the fairies, or even to use the word ‘fairy’ perhaps because to do so may have summoned them, or because using a name without its owner’s permission was a threat or challenge. It was wise t call them ‘the Good People’, ‘the Mother’s Blessing’, ‘Good neighbors’, ‘Wee Folk’ or ‘the Hidden People’, just as the ancient Greeks called the FURIES, the terrifying goddesses of vengeance, ‘The Kindly Ones’. Talking about fairies was to invite disasters, the very least of which was the calamity of being struck by blindness.

 

Reference:

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fairies by Anna Franlklin

 

Submitted by Uni

 

Artwork by : http://www.enchanted-art.com/