pixie

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpɪksi/^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is unknown.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The earliest forms are the dialect words pixy, pigsy and pisky of south-western England,^[7][8] and its home, from Cornwall to Wiltshire and Dorset, suggests a Celtic origin in Cornish.^[3] It has also been compared with Swedish pyske (“small fairy”) (dialectal).^[3][9] The ending was associated with the diminutive suffix -y.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A supernatural being akin to a fairy, in south-western English folklore (c. 1630 in the OED, Barnhart, Etymonline and Merriam-Webster).^[8][2][3][4] The earliest records are compounds: pixy-path, bewilderment, the path on which one is led astray by pixies (about 1630), and pixie-led, lost (1659).^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In rural England pixies were associated with the fairy rings of old pastures, where they were supposed to dance by moonlight.^[3][10] The word was later used of a mischievous person (1943 as an adjective, “playfully mischievous”)^[4][10] and of a small, lively woman or girl.^[4][7] A pixie cap or pixie hat is a pointed hat like those pixies are pictured in (1828),^[8] and pixie is short for such a hat (1960).^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1630 – pixy-path; a fairy.^[2][8]
• 1659 – pixie-led.^[2]
• 1828 – pixie cap.^[8]
• 1943 – adjective, playfully mischievous.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A fairy or sprite, especially a cheerful, mischievous one.
2. A playfully mischievous person.
3. A small, lively woman or girl, often with short hair.

Adjective

1. Playfully mischievous; impish.

Word family

• pixieish
• pixiness
• pixilation
• pixilated

Related words

• fairy
• elf
• sprite
• puck

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
8. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
10. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster