Dictionary

fairy tale en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈfɛɹi ˌteɪl/ (General-American)
• /ˈfeəɹi ˌteɪl/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Calque of French conte de fées, coined by French writer Madame d'Aulnoy in the late 17th century.

Meanings

1. A folktale or literary story featuring fairies or similar fantasy characters.
   • The Wife of Bathes Tale is evidently a Fairy-tale. It thus commences: In olde dayes of the king Artour, / Of which that Bretons speken gret honour, / All was this land fulfilled of faerie. 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume II, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 122:
   • I used to love reading fairy tales when I was a child.
   • The Arabian Nights rehears'd in bed! / The Fairy Tales in school-time read. 1828 April 12, The Hobart Town Courier, page 4, column 4:
2. (uncountable) The literary genre of these stories.
   • Their dresses were rich, and when they came bounding forward, their shapes of silver tissue, with their feathered diadems and faces of animated beauty, they might be imagined into scarcely less than the creations of fairy tale. 1819 February 27, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, page 4, column 3:
   • Mr. Shimerda kneels in front of the tree in prayer; a praying figure under a magic tree is a common one in fairy tale. 1989, Marilyn Berg Callander, Willa Cather and the Fairy Tale, Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, page 27:
3. (figuratively) A fabricated or misleading account meant to deceive, such as an exaggerated excuse.
   • If emigrants will submit to the "fairy tales" of Mr. Thomas, and fall in with his suggestions, they must patiently submit to the disagreeable consequences. 1825 May 5, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, page 2, column 4:
   • Comedy as satire is acceptable, as fun it is a pleasant haven of escape, but the fairy tale of happiness ever after cannot be taken seriously; it belongs to the never-never land of childhood, which is protected from the realities that will become terribly known soon enough[.] 1968, Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 2nd edition, London: Fontana Press, published 1993, page 28:
   • He's telling us another fairy tale about how great the software will be.
4. (figuratively) A delightful and ideal situation of a kind attained by very few.
   • I've been living in a fairy tale since I met Joe.

Forms

Deriveds

fairy-tale · fairy-tale-like

Relateds

fairy story

Translations (188)

sah остуоруйа (folktale) · sk rozprávka (folktale) · mk бајка (folktale) · cjs ныбақ (folktale) · eo fabelo (folktale) · af sprokie (folktale) · cs pohádka (folktale) · cv юмах (folktale) · za saenzvah (folktale) · be ка́зка (folktale) · ja おとぎ話 (folktale) · ga seafóid (folktale) · sl pravljica (folktale) · ar أُسْطُورَة (folktale) · hsb bajka (folktale) · uk ба́йка (folktale) · uk небили́ця (unrealistic story) · ur اَفْسانَہ (folktale) · ru миф (folktale) · ru небыли́ца (unrealistic story) · la fabula divalis (folktale) · uz ertak (folktale) · ba әкиәт (folktale) · lt pãsaka (folktale) · ru ба́сня (folktale) · pl bajka (folktale) · id dongeng (folktale) · ga amaidí (folktale) · it favola (folktale) · nn eventyr (folktale) · fa-cls اَفْسَانَه (folktale) · sw hadithi ya vichimbakazi (folktale) · tg афсона (folktale) · hi परीकथा (folktale) · ko 옛날이야기 (folktale) · cmn 誇張的故事 /夸张的故事 (unrealistic story) · rue приповідка (folktale) · fi kansansatu (folktale) · et muinasjutt (folktale) · ar خُرَافَة (folktale) · fi satu (unrealistic story) · fa-ira اَفْسانِه (folktale) · pnt παραμέθι (folktale) · ja 神話 (folktale) · bn রূপকথা (folktale) · ko 신화 (folktale) · ca conte de fades (folktale) · alt чӧрчӧк (folktale) · az nağıl (folktale) · ms dongeng (folktale) · gsw Määrli (unrealistic story) · cmn 民間故事 /民间故事 (folktale) · el παραμύθι (folktale) · kk ертек (folktale) · de Märchen (unrealistic story) · ky жомок (folktale) · yi מייַסעלע (folktale) · tyv тоол (folktale) · sq përrallë (folktale) · an cuento de fadas (folktale) · gsw Määrli (folktale) · nb eventyr (unrealistic story) · ko 옛이야기 (folktale) · he אַגָדָה (folktale) · dng гўҗер (folktale) · km រឿងដំណាល (folktale) · es cuento de hadas (folktale) · ru леге́нда (folktale) · pl baśń (folktale) · ja メルヘン (folktale) · tg матал (folktale) · ga bréag (folktale) · be не́быль (unrealistic story) · nds Määrken (folktale) · kl oqaluttualiaq (folktale) · de Fabel (folktale) · be небылі́ца (unrealistic story) · lv pasaka (folktale) · kmr çîvanok (folktale) · la fabula mirabilis (folktale) · ur پَرْیوں کی کَہانی (folktale) · be ба́йка (unrealistic story) · kpv мойд (folktale) · ga síscéal (folktale) · es relato de fadas (folktale) · hu tündérmese (folktale) · ce туьйра (folktale) · la fabula (folktale) · hi परियों की कहानी (folktale) · ja 昔話 (folktale) · nb eventyr (folktale) · ko 동화 (folktale) · de Märchen (folktale) · sh ба̑јка (folktale) · cy chwedl (folktale) · bg измислица (unrealistic story) · tl kuwentong bibit (folktale) · nan-hbl 囡仔古 (folktale) · sv saga (folktale) · pt conto de fadas (folktale) · be ба́йка (folktale) · sh bȃjka (folktale) · fi satu (folktale) · da eventyr (folktale) · ar قِصَّة خُرَافِيَّة (folktale) · km ទេពនិទាន (folktale) · hu mese (folktale) · it fola (folktale) · tg қисса (folktale) · km រឿងព្រេង (folktale) · ru ска́зка (folktale) · vo mär (folktale) · km និទាន (folktale) · fr conte de fée (folktale) · cmn 神話 /神话 (folktale) · ka ზღაპარი (folktale) · nan-hbl 神話 /神话 (folktale) · izh kaaska (folktale) · ja 民話 (folktale) · ur پَری کَہانی (folktale) · shi umiy (folktale) · mk сказна (folktale) · tt әкият (folktale) · tk erteki (folktale) · nds Fabel (folktale) · tr masal (folktale) · gl conto de fadas (folktale) · uz choʻpchak (folktale) · fr conte de fées (folktale) · ti ጽውጽዋይ (folktale) · kk ертегі (folktale) · ro basm (folktale) · es fantasía (unrealistic story) · vi chuyện cổ tích (folktale) · ko 민화 (folktale) · ru при́тча (folktale) · lb Märchen (folktale) · yue 童話 /童话 (folktale) · wuu 童話 /童话 (folktale) · wuu 神話 /神话 (folktale) · jv dongèngan (unrealistic story) · ru ба́йка (folktale) · my သမိုင်း (folktale) · kmr efsane (folktale) · rm paraula (folktale) · is ævintýri (folktale) · rom paramìsi (folktale) · os аргъау (folktale) · mn шидэт үлгэр (folktale) · tl kakana (folktale) · ne बालकथा (folktale) · cmn 童話 /童话 (folktale) · el παραμύθι (unrealistic story) · ota مثل (folktale) · ko 메르헨 (folktale) · yue 神話 /神话 (folktale) · uk ба́йка (unrealistic story) · tr peri masalı (folktale) · mk приказна (folktale) · lo ນິທານ (folktale) · ps افسانه (folktale) · ar حِكَايَة رَمْزِيَّة (folktale) · bg при́казка (folktale) · atv чӧрджек (folktale) · vi đồng thoại (folktale) · th เทพนิยาย (folktale) · ru ба́йка (unrealistic story) · pl bajka (unrealistic story) · cmn 精怪故事 (folktale) · uk ка́зка (folktale) · it fiaba (folktale) · ga finscéal (folktale) · my ဒဏ္ဍာရီ (folktale) · rsk сказка (folktale) · ce туьйра (unrealistic story) · ga scéal sí (folktale) · zza estanık (folktale) · hy հեքիաթ (folktale) · ug چۆچەك (folktale) · vi truyện cổ tích (folktale) · fo ævintýr (folktale) · ru ска́зка (unrealistic story) · za gojgaeqfangz (folktale) · pnt παραμύθι (folktale) · ky жөө жомок (folktale) · ja 童話 (folktale) · nl sprookje (folktale) · nan-hbl 童話 /童话 (folktale)

wikidata: Q699