Fairies-
noun
(in folklore) one of a class of supernatural beings, generallyconceived as having a diminutive human form and possessingmagical powers with which they intervene in human affairs. (Dictionary.com)
Ever since I first saw Tinkerbell from the book Peter Pan, I've always been intrigued by the life of the little humans with wings known as Fairies. In my childhood they were depicted as being tiny magical creatures that could fly with the help of pixie dust, which they produced. Another example would be The Fairy Godmother from Cinderella. From this I'd deduced that all fairies were the same until I had English Literature with Ms. Olivier. In this class I learned the history of fairies from the Celtic mythology point of view. Their myths seem to say that there are many types of fairies and most of them are nothing like Tinkerbell. I learned about many different types of fairies that come in all different shapes and sizes. "Fairy comes from the Old French word faerie. The word has been overused to describe a supernatural being. There is a great deal of difference in classifying a being as a fairy from the medieval literature and those from modern literature, especially those belonging to the Celtic tradition. The fairies are supernatural beings that can be best described by the Greek word - daimon, which means "spirit". They are not divinity, ie. god or goddess, in the usual sense of the word, and yet they are not mere mortal; often, it is easier to classify them as minor divinity." (Jimmy)
References
"fairy." Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. 05 Dec. 2012. <Dictionary.com
Jimmy, Joe. "Faeries." Timeless Myths. N.p., 1999. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.
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