pixie English · revision 1482

+ {{infobox|confidence=unknown|attested=c. 1630}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈpɪksi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Its origin is unknown.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986)^(Collins 2023) The earliest forms are the dialect words [[m|en|pixy]], [[m|en|pigsy]] and [[m|en|pisky]] of south-western England,^(RHWU)^(OED 1989) and its home, from Cornwall to Wiltshire and Dorset, suggests a Celtic origin in Cornish.^(Etymonline) It has also been compared with [[sv|pyske|t=small fairy]] (dialectal).^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) The ending was associated with the diminutive suffix [[-y]].^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==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).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) 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).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In rural England pixies were associated with the fairy rings of old pastures, where they were supposed to dance by moonlight.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) The word was later used of a mischievous person (1943 as an adjective, “playfully mischievous”)^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024) and of a small, lively woman or girl.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) A ''pixie cap'' or ''pixie hat'' is a pointed hat like those pixies are pictured in (1828),^(OED 1989) and ''pixie'' is short for such a hat (1960).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1630 – ''pixy-path''; a fairy.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1659 – ''pixie-led''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1828 – ''pixie cap''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1943 – adjective, playfully mischievous.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[fairy]] or [[sprite]], especially a cheerful, mischievous one.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A playfully mischievous person.^(MWU 2024)^(RHWU)

+ # A small, lively woman or girl, often with short hair.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Playfully mischievous; [[impish]].^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pixieish]]

+ * [[pixiness]]

+ * [[pixilation]]

+ * [[pixilated]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fairy]]

+ * [[elf]]

+ * [[sprite]]

+ * [[puck]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}