A fairy (also fay, fey, faery, faerie; collectively, "fae" wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair folk, and other euphemisms) is a type of mythological being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.
The word fairy derives from the term fae of medieval Western European (Old French) folklore and romance, one famous example being Morgan De Fay ('Morgan of the Fae'). "Fae-ery" was therefore everything that appertains to the "fae", and so the land of "fae", all the "fae". Finally the word replaced its original and one could speak of "a faery or fairy", though the word fey is still used as an adjective. 'Fae' is the plural, 'Faery' is the singular.
Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term fairy offers many definitions. Sometimes the term describes any magical creature, including goblins or gnomes: at other times, the term only describes a specific type of more ethereal creature.