Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
adjective
- British Dialect. doomed; fated to die.
- Chiefly Scot. appearing to be under a spell; marked by an apprehension of death, calamity, or evil.
- supernatural; unreal; enchanted: elves, fairies, and other fey creatures.
- being in unnaturally high spirits, as were formerly thought to precede death.
- whimsical; strange; otherworldly: a strange child with a mysterious smile and a fey manner.
adjective
- interested in or believing in the supernatural
- attuned to the supernatural; clairvoyant; visionary
- mainly Scot fated to die; doomed
- mainly Scot in a state of high spirits or unusual excitement, formerly believed to presage death
“of excitement that presages death,” from Old English fæge “doomed to die, fated, destines,” also “timid, feeble;” and/or from Old Norse feigr, both from Proto-Germanic *faigjo- (cf. Old Saxon fegi, Old Frisian fai, Middle Dutch vege, Middle High German veige “doomed,” also “timid,” German feige “cowardly”), from PIE *peig- “evil-minded, hostile” (see foe). Preserved in Scottish. Sense of “displaying unearthly qualities” and “disordered in the mind (like one about to die)” led to modern ironic sense of “affected.”