fay

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fay

a fairy
Not to be confused with:
fey – fated to die soon; under a spell; enchanted; whimsical; otherworldly
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

fay 1

 (fā)
tr. & intr.v. fayed, fay·ing, fays
To join or fit closely or tightly.

[Middle English feien, from Old English fēgan; see pag- in Indo-European roots.]

fay 2

 (fā)
n.
A fairy or an elf.

[Middle English faie, enchanted person or place, from Old French fae; see fairy.]

fay 3

 (fā)
n. Archaic
Faith: "Sirrah, by my fay, it waxes late" (Shakespeare).

[Middle English fai, from Anglo-Norman fei, fed; see faith.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fay

(feɪ)
n
(European Myth & Legend) a fairy or sprite
adj
1. (European Myth & Legend) of or resembling a fay
2. informal pretentious or precious
[C14: from Old French feie, ultimately from Latin fātum fate]

fay

(feɪ)
vb
to fit or be fitted closely or tightly
[Old English fēgan to join; related to Old High German fuogen, Latin pangere to fasten]

fay

(feɪ)
n
an obsolete word for faith
[C13: from Anglo-French feid; see faith]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fay1

(feɪ)

n.
[1350–1400; Middle English faie, fei < Middle French feie, fee]

fay2

(feɪ)

n.
Obs. faith.
[1250–1300; Middle English fai, fei < Anglo-French, faith]

fay3

(feɪ)

n.
Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. ofay.
[1925–30]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

fay


Past participle: fayed
Gerund: faying

Imperative
fay
fay
Present
I fay
you fay
he/she/it fays
we fay
you fay
they fay
Preterite
I fayed
you fayed
he/she/it fayed
we fayed
you fayed
they fayed
Present Continuous
I am faying
you are faying
he/she/it is faying
we are faying
you are faying
they are faying
Present Perfect
I have fayed
you have fayed
he/she/it has fayed
we have fayed
you have fayed
they have fayed
Past Continuous
I was faying
you were faying
he/she/it was faying
we were faying
you were faying
they were faying
Past Perfect
I had fayed
you had fayed
he/she/it had fayed
we had fayed
you had fayed
they had fayed
Future
I will fay
you will fay
he/she/it will fay
we will fay
you will fay
they will fay
Future Perfect
I will have fayed
you will have fayed
he/she/it will have fayed
we will have fayed
you will have fayed
they will have fayed
Future Continuous
I will be faying
you will be faying
he/she/it will be faying
we will be faying
you will be faying
they will be faying
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been faying
you have been faying
he/she/it has been faying
we have been faying
you have been faying
they have been faying
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been faying
you will have been faying
he/she/it will have been faying
we will have been faying
you will have been faying
they will have been faying
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been faying
you had been faying
he/she/it had been faying
we had been faying
you had been faying
they had been faying
Conditional
I would fay
you would fay
he/she/it would fay
we would fay
you would fay
they would fay
Past Conditional
I would have fayed
you would have fayed
he/she/it would have fayed
we would have fayed
you would have fayed
they would have fayed
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.fay - a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powersfay - a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
spiritual being, supernatural being - an incorporeal being believed to have powers to affect the course of human events
elf, gremlin, imp, pixie, pixy, hob, brownie - (folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous
fairy godmother - a female character in some fairy stories who has magical powers and can bring unexpected good fortune to the hero or heroine
gnome, dwarf - a legendary creature resembling a tiny old man; lives in the depths of the earth and guards buried treasure
Morgan le Fay - (Arthurian legend) a wicked enchantress who was the half sister and enemy of King Arthur
Puck, Robin Goodfellow - a mischievous sprite of English folklore
Oberson - (Middle Ages) the king of the fairies and husband of Titania in medieval folklore
Titania - (Middle Ages) the queen of the fairies in medieval folklore
tooth fairy - a fairy that is said to leave money at night under a child's pillow to compensate for a baby tooth falling out
water spirit, water sprite, water nymph - a fairy that inhabits water
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

fay

n (liter, = fairy) → Fee f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
References in classic literature ?
This is the haunt of the few gentle Fays who remain from the wreck of the race.
As I thus mused, with half-shut eyes, while the sun sank rapidly to rest, and eddying currents careered round and round the island, bearing upon their bosom large, dazzling, white flakes of the bark of the sycamore-flakes which, in their multiform positions upon the water, a quick imagination might have converted into any thing it pleased, while I thus mused, it appeared to me that the form of one of those very Fays about whom I had been pondering made its way slowly into the darkness from out the light at the western end of the island.
This missionary knight's name was La Cote Male Taile, and he said that this castle was the abode of Morgan le Fay, sister of King Arthur, and wife of King Uriens.
le Fay by reputation, and was not expecting anything pleasant.
Found in a Bottle," "A Descent Into a Maelstrom" and "The Balloon Hoax"; such tales of conscience as "William Wilson," "The Black Cat" and "The Tell-tale Heart," wherein the retributions of remorse are portrayed with an awful fidelity; such tales of natural beauty as "The Island of the Fay" and "The Domain of Arnheim"; such marvellous studies in ratiocination as the "Gold-bug," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Purloined Letter" and "The Mystery of Marie Roget," the latter, a recital of fact, demonstrating the author's wonderful capability of correctly analyzing the mysteries of the human mind; such tales of illusion and banter as "The Premature Burial" and "The System of Dr.
Archer was always at pains to tell her children how much more agreeable and cultivated society had been when it included such figures as Washington Irving, Fitz-Greene Halleck and the poet of "The Culprit Fay." The most celebrated authors of that generation had been "gentlemen"; perhaps the unknown persons who succeeded them had gentlemanly sentiments, but their origin, their appearance, their hair, their intimacy with the stage and the Opera, made any old New York criterion inapplicable to them.
Most of them were well- known business men--the Bradleys, the Saltonstalls, Fay, Silsbee, and Carlton.