fairy

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun An imaginary being in human form, depicted as clever, mischievous, and possessing magical powers.
• noun Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a gay man.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun Enchantment; magic.
• noun An imaginary being or spirit, generally represented as of a diminutive and graceful human form, but capable of assuming any other, and as playing pranks, frolicsome, kindly, mischievous, or spiteful, on human beings or among themselves; a fay.
• noun Fays collectively; fairy folk.
• noun Fairy-land; elf-land.
• noun An enchantress.
• noun Synonyms Fairy, Elf, Fay; Sylph, Gnome; Jinn, Genie; Goblin. Fairy is the most general name for a diminutive imaginary being, generally in human form, sometimes very benevolent or inclined to teach moral lessons, as the fairy godmother of Cinderella; sometimes malevolent in the extreme, as in many fairy stories. Spenser took up the word in Chaucer's spelling, faerie or faery, and gave it an extended meaning, which is now commonly confined to that spelling and to his poem; the personages in “The Faery Queene” live in an unlocated region, essentially like the rest of the world, and are of heroic and occasionally supernatural powers; these personages he sometimes calls elves or elfins. In ordinary use an elf differs from a fairy only in generally seeming young, and being more often mischievous. Pope, in “The Rape of the Lock,” has given a definite cast to sylph and gnome; these two words are elsewhere often associated, gnomes having always been fabled as living in underground abodes, and especially as being the guardians of mines and quarries, while sylphs are denizens of the air. From this difference of place it has followed that gnomes are generally thought of with repugnance or dread, and sylphs, although of both sexes in literature, are popularly thought of as young, slender, and graceful females: hence the expression “a sylph-like form.” To Oriental imagination is due the jinn, djinn, or jinnee; the form genie is most vividly associated with the “Arabian Nights”: as, the genie of Aladdin's lamp; the genie that the fisherman let out of the bottle. A goblin is wicked, mischievous, or at least roguish, and frightful or grotesque in appearance. See the definitions of kobold, sylph, brownie, banshee, sprite, pixie, nixie, nymph, etc.
• Pertaining to or in some manner connected with fairies; done by or coming from fairies. See phrases below.
• Resembling in some way a fairy; hence, fanciful, graceful, whimsical, fantastic, etc.: as, fairy creatures or favors.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun obsolete Enchantment; illusion.
• noun obsolete The country of the fays; land of illusions.
• noun An imaginary supernatural being or spirit, supposed to assume a human form (usually diminutive), either male or female, and to meddle for good or evil in the affairs of mankind; a fay. See Elf, and Demon.
• noun obsolete An enchantress.
• noun an imaginary being supposed to inhabit mines, etc. German folklore tells of two species; one fierce and malevolent, the other gentle, See Kobold.
• adjective Of or pertaining to fairies.
• adjective Given by fairies.
• adjective (Zoöl.) the Euoropean little tern (Sterna minuta); -- called also sea swallow, and hooded tern.
• adjective (Zoöl.) See under Bluebird.
• adjective (Zoöl.) a European swallow (Hirrundo ariel) that builds flask-shaped nests of mud on overhanging cliffs.
• adjective the circles formed in grassy lawns by certain fungi (as Marasmius Oreades), formerly supposed to be caused by fairies in their midnight dances; also, the mushrooms themselves. Such circles may have diameters larger than three meters.
• adjective (Zoöl.) a European fresh-water phyllopod crustacean (Chirocephalus diaphanus); -- so called from its delicate colors, transparency, and graceful motions. The name is sometimes applied to similar American species.
• adjective (Paleon.) an echinite.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun uncountable, obsolete the realm of faerie; enchantment, illusion.
• noun A mythical being who had magical powers, known in many sizes and descriptions, although often depicted in modern illustrations only as small and spritely with gauze-like wings; A sprite.
• noun Northern England, US, derogatory, colloquial a male homosexual, especially one who is effeminate.
• noun paganism A nature spirit revered in modern paganism.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
• noun offensive term for an openly homosexual man