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Elf vs Fey - What's the difference?

elf | fey |

As nouns the difference between elf and fey

is that elf is a luminous spirit presiding over nature and fertility and dwelling in the world of Álfheim (Elfland). Compare angel, nymph, fairy while fey is fairy folk collectively.

As an initialism ELF

is initialism of w:Earth Liberation Front|Earth Liberation Front|lang=en a radical environmentalism group.

As an adjective fey is

about to die; doomed; on the verge of sudden or violent death.

elf

English

Noun

(elves) (wikipedia elf)
  • (Norse mythology) A luminous spirit presiding over nature and fertility and dwelling in the world of (Elfland). Compare angel, nymph, fairy.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Every elf , and fairy sprite, / Hop as light as bird from brier.
  • Any from a race of mythical, supernatural beings resembling but seen as distinct from human beings. Usually skilled in magic or spellcrafting; sometimes depicted as clashing with dwarves, especially in modern fantasy literature.
  • (fantasy) Any of the magical, typically forest-guarding races bearing some similarities to the Norse (through Tolkien's Eldar)
  • A very diminutive person; a dwarf.
  • Derived terms

    * elfin * elfinwood * elfish * Elfland * elflock * elven * elvish * light elves * dark elves

    See also

    * fay * fairy * brownie * dwarf * hobbit

    References

    * Marshall Jones Company (1930). Mythology of All Races'' Series, Volume 2 ''Eddic , Great Britain: Marshall Jones Company, 1930, pp. 220-221.

    fey

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (l)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) . More at (l).

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (dialectal, or, archaic) About to die; doomed; on the verge of sudden or violent death.
  • (obsolete) Dying; dead.
  • (chiefly, Scottish) possessing second sight, clairvoyance, or clairaudience
  • overrefined, affected
  • * {{quote-magazine
  • , date=2006-01-01 , year= , month= , first= , last= , author=Jennifer Drapkin , coauthors= , title=Wrestling with Fame , volume=39 , issue=1 , page=50 , magazine=Psychology Today , publisher= , issn= citation , passage=Hoffman does not rely on his talent to carry him through a role. He spent five and a half months transmuting himself into Capote. … He lost 40 pounds and practiced the inscrutable voice and fey mannerisms for an hour or two every day. }}
  • * {{quote-book
  • , year=2009 , year_published= , edition= , editor= , author=Robert Cohen , title=Amateur Barbarians , chapter= citation , genre= , publisher=Simon and Schuster , isbn=9780743230360 , page=16 , passage=He'd stand at the board making jokes the kids didn't understand, improvising fey little couplets of dactylic verse. }}
  • * {{quote-magazine
  • , date= , year=2009 , month=Oct/Nov , first= , last= , author=Lucius Shepard , coauthors= , title=Halloween Town , volume=117 , issue=3/4 , page=129 , magazine=Fantasy and Science Fiction , publisher= , issn= , url= , passage= … he did not tell Mary Alonso, who had taken Dell's place as a source of gossip and information, and with whom he went out for drinks on occasion, usually along with Mary's partner, Roberta, a fey , freckly, dark-haired girl, … }}
  • * {{quote-book
  • , year=2011 , year_published= , edition= , editor= , author=Héctor Tobar , title=The Barbarian Nurseries , chapter= , url= , genre= , publisher=Farrar, Straus, and Giroux , isbn=9780374708931 , page= , passage=Guadalupe was a fey mexicana with long braids and a taste for embroidered Oaxacan blouses and overwrought indigenous jewelry, and also a former university student like Araceli. }}
  • * {{quote-magazine
  • , date= , year=2012 , month=Apr , first= , last= , author= , coauthors= , title=Field Guide: The Club Rules , volume= , issue= , page= , magazine=Town and Country , publisher= , issn= , url= , passage=Bespoke designer Kirk Miller, who offers a contemporary version at his Soho atelier, says, "A club collar shows that a man pays attention to detail. It's a simple way to communicate elegance." And please don't call it a Peter Pan, the club's fey sister. }}
  • * {{quote-web
  • , date= , year=2012 , first= , last= , author=Jeffery Goldberg , authorlink= , title=What's Your Problem , site=The Atlantic Montly citation , archiveorg= , accessdate=2012-09-17 , passage=Most Ivy League graduates are unaccustomed to pepper spray; perhaps he should spray himself in the face once or twice, to test his tolerance. He should also resist the urge to bring high-end camping equipment to protests—this will make him look fey and elitist. }}
  • Strange or otherworldly.
  • Spellbound.
  • Derived terms

    * (l)

    Etymology 2

    (etyl) faie, . More at fairy.

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Magical or fairylike.
  • Noun

    (-)
  • Fairy folk collectively.
  • See also

    * fay * fae ----