Faery? Faerie? Fairy? A spelling conundrum

[mollyringle]

We’re down to the final edits of The Goblins of Bellwater, and those proofing it have pointed out that I need to pick what the singular of “fae” is. I mostly have gone with “faery,” though slipped into “faerie” a time or two. Or hang on, should it just be “fairy

Comments

[anonymous]

Wait I thought fae was a very rude word for those creatures in Celtic mythology?

[mollyringle]

Hmm, I haven't encountered it as an insult really, though if you have a reliable source saying so, please post it! The Celts themselves would have called them the "Sidhe," is my understanding; and they sometimes used other terms, such as "the fair folk," as a sort of euphemism to avoid attracting the folks' possibly mischievous attention. :)

There is the adjective "fey," meaning (to quote Oxford English Dictionary) fated to die, cursed, or "Disordered in mind like one about to die; possessing or displaying magical, fairylike, or unearthly qualities. Now frequently used ironically, in sense ‘affected, whimsy’." Which all could certainly be an insult. But it's unrelated to the word "fae," as it turns out! And is mostly aimed at humans.