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Author
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Comment
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aka Greensleeves
Registered User
(8/30/06 2:56 pm)
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Euphemisms for "fairy?"
I'm looking for an alternate word to use in place of "fairy" in a manuscript... but I can't find my Giant Guide to Fairy Euphemisms, and I seem to be finding the same very short list repeated over and again online.
So... besides The Good Neighbors, The Other Ones, etc, what am I looking at?
Thanks!
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Veronica Schanoes
Registered User
(8/30/06 3:30 pm)
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Re: lady
The Gentry. The Fair Folk. The Shining Ones. The Kindly Ones. The Fey.
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rosyelf
Registered User
(9/1/06 2:22 pm)
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fairies
Sometimes just "Them."
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korin
Unregistered User
(9/1/06 4:58 pm)
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fairy euphemisms
The wee folk, Mother's Blessing, the Good Neighbours, the Good People, the Green Men, the Lordly Ones, the fays, elementals, &c., or simply 'the People', 'The Folk'. You could use a more specific classification to refer to them in a broader sense -- i.e. sylphs, nymphs, elves, sirens, wood wives etc. There are culture-specific names for the fairies -- the Fatae is probably the closest to the modern terms we use, thus the most recognizable (it originates in Italy, which should be obvious as the word is very Latinate). In Irish they are the Sidhe -- in Italy there are the silvane and silvani (female and male wood people, their offspring the folleti, the mischievous little fairies). The Welsh Tylwyth Teg are the Fair Folk of Wales, while the Scottish have the Seelie and Unseelie (good and evil) fairy courts. If you are interested in inventing your own euphemism, you might look to the origins of faeries (which vary from culture to culture) -- for example, in one culture they are thought of as fallen angels, or souls to bad for Heaven but not bad enough for Hell -- you could call them the Fallen Ones, etc. Other names might arise from their behaviour -- the Tricksters, etc. -- or be habitat-specific -- for example, the Forest Folk. If you have a designated ruler -- say, Oberon -- they could be Oberon's People. The same goes if you have identified them with a specific deity. Suggestions for the latter include Pan, Silvanus, Hecate, and Artemis amid the classical gods. Keep in mind that in some cultures -- for example, in many Scandinavian mythologies -- gods, humans and fairies are all considered seperate 'species', so it would not necessarily be believable for the fay to be affiliated with a god or goddess. You could try looking up fairies in wikipedia -- they have some good mythological articles, and you can navigate by links and cross-referencing as long as you have a starting place.
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bielie
Unregistered User
(9/8/06 3:26 pm)
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fairies
little people
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searsmith
Registered User
(9/11/06 4:03 am)
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Fairy Folk
Kipling calls them "Old Things." A folk term I don't think we've said yet is the "Gray Ones."
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Nin Harris
Registered User
(9/20/06 9:32 pm)
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Re: Fairy Folk
You might want to check out some of the older folkloric texts from the British Isles for different names used for faeries or "The Gentry". A couple of writers I can think of off-hand would be Katherine Briggs and Thomas Keightley.
Thomas Keightley's works are available online.
Of course, different parts of the world have different names and concepts for faeries, but I'm assuming you want the most usual. You can also do a search for the terms used by other cultures. I've found the Sacred Texts Archives to be quite helpful.
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princessterribel
Registered User
(9/23/06 2:31 am)
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Re: Fairy Folk
Hmmn, I think that all of the possibilities hvae already been posted but generally I refer to the Land of Farie whose inhabitants are faeries, or fair folk...some places believe they are the spirits of babies I think others believe that they are malignant forces so you could come up with terms to suit either belief depending on your purpose. I would be inclined to be totally original and try to make one up myself though...thats where the fun of faery begins for me.
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