Added 7 October 2026
fey
/feɪ/ adjective
adjective Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about fey at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Slightly insane.
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Suggestive of an elf in strangeness and otherworldliness.
thunderbolts quivered with elfin flares of heat lightning
Origin
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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)