fey

Meaning

Adj

1. (archaic, dialectal, poetic) About to die; doomed; on the verge of sudden or violent death.
2. (obsolete) Dying; dead.
3. (Ireland, Scotland) Possessing second sight, clairvoyance, or clairaudience.
4. Overrefined, affected.
5. Strange or otherworldly.
6. Spellbound.

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) A fairy.
2. (countable, uncountable) Fairy folk collectively.

Noun

Alternative form of pe (“Semitic letter”).

Verb

To cleanse.

Synonyms

elfin

touched

enrapt

entranced

fairylike

hypnotized

magic

🪄

mesmerized

rapt

transfixed

doomed

whimsical

eccentric

Translations

sevimli

çatlak

ince

narin

kaçık

envoûté

lezioso

mesmerisiert

todgeweiht

durchstochen

illumin

illuminé

magnétisé

incantato

fasciné

Pronounced as (IPA)

/feɪ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: fey

Inherited from Old English: fǣġe

Cognate with Old Saxon: fēgi

Cognate with Dutch: veeg

Cognate with Old High German: feigi

Cognate with German: feige

Cognate with Old Norse: feigr

Cognate with Icelandic: feigur

Cognate with Old English: fāh

Inherited from Middle English: faie

In summary

From Middle English feye (“fated to die”), from Old English fǣġe (“doomed to die, timid”), from Proto-West Germanic *faigī, from Proto-Germanic *faigijaz (“cowardly, wicked”), from Proto-Indo-European *peyk- (“ill-meaning, bad”).
Akin to Old Saxon fēgi, whence Dutch veeg (“doomed, near death”), Old High German feigi (“appointed for death, ungodly”) whence German feige (“cowardly”), Old Norse feigr (“doomed”) whence the Icelandic feigur (“doomed to die”), Old English fāh (“outlawed, hostile”). More at foe.