fey

[ fey ]
See synonyms for fey on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. British Dialect. doomed; fated to die.

  2. Chiefly Scot. appearing to be under a spell; marked by an apprehension of death, calamity, or evil.

  1. supernatural; unreal; enchanted: elves, fairies, and other fey creatures.

  2. being in unnaturally high spirits, as were formerly thought to precede death.

  3. whimsical; strange; otherworldly: a strange child with a mysterious smile and a fey manner.

Origin of fey

1
before 900; Middle English; Old English fǣge doomed to die; cognate with Old Norse feigr doomed, German feig cowardly

Words Nearby fey

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use fey in a sentence

  • I had a man go fey on me once, up on the Slave Lake trail, he said slowly.

    The Snow-Burner | Henry Oyen
  • To see one's own fylgja was unlucky, and often a sign that a man was "fey," or death-doomed.

  • The next day he seemed just as gay, from dawn till dark, as good-humoured in fact, "as one who feels himself fey."

    The Yellow Rose | Mr Jkai
  • So tingles the pulsing blood, perhaps, when a man is fey, when the kisses of his mouth are numbered.

    Stepsons of Light | Eugene Manlove Rhodes
  • I hope I am not fey,' I said to myself, with a little thrill of excitement and expectation as the familiar station came in view.

    Uncle Max | Rosa Nouchette Carey

British Dictionary definitions for fey

fey

/ (feɪ) /


adjective
  1. interested in or believing in the supernatural

  2. attuned to the supernatural; clairvoyant; visionary

  1. mainly Scot fated to die; doomed

  2. mainly Scot in a state of high spirits or unusual excitement, formerly believed to presage death

Origin of fey

1
Old English fæge marked out for death; related to Old Norse feigr doomed, Old High German feigi

Derived forms of fey

  • feyness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012