pix·ie or pix·y (pĭk'sē) n.
pl.pix·ies A fairylike or elfin creature, especially one that is mischievous; a playful sprite. adj. Playfully mischievous.
c.1630, perhaps from Swed. dialect pyske "small fairy," but West County origin suggests ultimate source in Cornwall and thus something Celtic. Earliest references were in pixy-path "bewilderment," lit. "path on which one is led astray by pixies," and pixie-led "lost."