Weekly Word: Fey

The adjective fey has a few very different meanings, including “supernatural”, “whimsical”, and “being in unnaturally high spirits, as were formerly thought to precede death”. As used in British dialects, fey means “doomed; fated to die”. In Scot usage it has a similar meaning, but with more of a sense of “appearing to be under a spell”. Notice a common theme here?

This word comes from the Old English word fæge, “doomed to die”. As a very old word preserved through Scottish, it’s no surprise that it sometimes comes up in fantasy-themed literature and video games. In fact, I came across this word precisely because of the game Dwarf Fortress!