fairy ring en · NOUN
Etymology
The idea of a ring where fairies danced was a traditional explanation for the fungal phenomenon before it was understood.
Meanings
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A place where fairies congregate in a ring, particularly in order to dance.
1914, "Rhys at the Fairy Dance" in Maud Keary, Enchanted Tulips and Other Verses for Children, Macmillan and Company, page 102, Though many a year has passed away, / None have seen Rhys since that day! / Does he dance and does he sing / For ever in a Fairy Ring?
Welsh folklore also reveals few references to fairy rings but there is a fine example found in the legend "Rhys at the Fairy Dance" (collected in 1827) in which Rhys is lost but found again when several people venture to a nearby fairy ring.
1972, North Carolina Folklore Society, North Carolina Folklore Journal, Volumes 20-21: 1972-1973, page 51:They are fond of music and dancing. It is their dancing that forms the fairy rings.
1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 262:
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A ring of fungi marking the periphery of the perennial underground growth of the mycelium.
So writing it down and reading it later, I realized somehow my subconscious was giving me a warning of things to come. In the dream I woke up at the height of the full moon in my garden. I didn't realize that in my drunken stupor I had fallen asleep amidst a fairy ring. A fairy ring is a bunch of mushrooms growing in a circle. I often see them growing on lawns. Legend has it that if one gets caught in this circle on a full moon, the fairies will take him or her captive and do as they please.
2012, Juliana Regina Delion, Heart Attack!: Shadows on the Eve of Tomorrow, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 18:The best known Fungus occupant of fairy rings is the Fairy Ring Agaric or Champignon, Marasmius oreades, termed in the older botanical textbooks Agaricus oreades.
1884, The Journal of Horticulture, Cottage Gardener, and Home Farmer, Volume 7, 3rd Series, July—December, 1883, page 213:This curious phenomenon has been differently accounted for. The following is Mr. Nicholson's description and explanation: "the appearance in the grass, says he, commonly called Fairy Rings, is well known. It consists either of a ring of grass of more luxuriant vegetation than the rest, or a kind of circular path in which the vegetation is more defective than elsewhere. It appears to be pretty well ascertained that the latter state precedes the former. […]
1821, Edward Polehampton, chapter VIII, in The Gallery of Nature and Art: Or, A Tour Through Creation and Science, volume 5, page 316:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| fairy rings | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
fairy ring mushroom · fairy ring champignon · fairy ring agaric · fairy ring fungus
Relateds
Synonyms
elf circle · elf circle · pixie ring · fairy circle · pixie ring · elf-dance · fairy circle
Translations (18)
fr rond de sorcière (ring of fungi) · fi noidankehä (ring of fungi) · fi sienikehä (ring of fungi) · cs čarodějný kruh (ring of fungi) · nb trollring (ring of fungi) · pl czarcie koło (ring of fungi) · de Hexenring (ring of fungi) · nb heksering (ring of fungi) · my မှိုကျင်း (ring of fungi) · sv häxring (ring of fungi) · pl czarci krąg (ring of fungi) · es anillo de hadas (ring of fungi) · it cerchio delle streghe (ring of fungi) · eo fungoringo (ring of fungi) · nl heksenkring (ring of fungi) · eo sorĉistina ringo (ring of fungi) · pt anel de fadas (ring of fungi) · no heksering (ring of fungi)