Dictionary

pixie en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˈpɪksi/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Uncertain; 17thC, originally in the folklore of southwest England; perhaps diminutive of dialectal Swedish pysk (“fairy”), though the transmission of a Swedish dialect term to southwest Britain is unexplained; perhaps Puck (“Robin Goodfellow”) + -sy; see Wikipedia.

Meanings

1. (qualifier:fairy tales) A playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature.
   • Then she saw pixies — dozens and dozens of pixies — dancing and singing. 2005, Dan Keding, “The Pixies’ Bed”, in Dan Keding, Amy Douglas, editors, English Folktales, page 98:
   • When she looked around, Mary saw four pixies flying toward her. She had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit. Then the pixies turned around and attacked again. 2005, Kathryn Reyes, Mystery Door Manor and the Dragon Realm, page 72:
   • Tiffy froze as the two pixies looked directly into each other's eyes. Then Tiffy raised her hand and said, “Hi, I'm Tiffy the Tooth Fairy.” Even though the other pixie lifted her hand too, she didn't answer. 2010, Sandra A. Filbin, The Enchanted World: A Tooth Fairy's Tale, page 49:
   • The servant that had raised him, an elderly pixie called Rolog, had died. On his deathbed he had called the young Captain to his side. Seeing the pixie dying had had no effect on him. 2007, Jeremy Phillips, The Wizardon Star, page 165:
   • The writer in the Quarterly Review, vol xxii., gives a long list of words which he regards as connected with Puck: the editor of Warton adds German Spuk and Danish Spoge and Spogelse: we will contribute the Scottish Pauky, and the Devonshire Pixies, or Fairies. 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume II, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 119:
2. (slang) A cute, petite woman with short hair.
   • Like magic, Carla transformed from the dainty pixie into a hardcore, no-nonsense businesswoman right before his eyes. 2011, L. E. Newell, Durty South Grind, page 138:
   • Petite and narrow-waisted, with a pixie flip of hair the exact color of coffee beans, Abigail could easily pass for sixteen in a pair of ripped jeans and an Abercrombie T-shirt. 2009, Nicole Baart, The Moment Between, page 1:
   • Petite in the extreme, not even reaching five feet tall, Winchester at her most robust had approached one hundred pounds. No longer the bright-eyed, sophisticated pixie that Isaiah Taber had photographed so many years earlier, Winchester showed a different picture altogether as she lay dying, her fingers and toes knotted and knurled from years of destruction by the painful arthritis. 2010, Mary Jo Ignoffo, Captive of the Labyrinth: Sarah L. Winchester, Heiress to the Rifle Fortune, page 196:
   • Then a pixie appears in the visitor window, round face, big brown eyes framed in thick liner, a tiny turned-up nose, red lips, inch-long blue-black hair so popular with the avant-garde. 2006, Darnell Arnoult, Sufficient Grace, page 186:
3. An upper-atmospheric optical phenomenon associated with thunderstorms, a short-lasting pinpoint of light on the surface of convective domes that produces a gnome.
4. A butterfly of the genus Melanis.
5. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis) Ellipsis of pixie cut.
   alt of pixie cut
   • In a picture posted to Instagram on June 28, the stylish star [Lizzo] showed off her new, lighter brows and a blonde pixie that we suspect comes courtesy of a wig but can't be sure. 2021 June 29, Elizabeth Logan, “Lizzo Just Got a Blonde Pixie and Bleached Her Eyebrows”, in Glamour:
   • “Have you thought about a haircut? A pixie or a bob?” 2016, Susan Wiggs, Starlight on Willow Lake, page 114:

Forms

Deriveds

pixie-lead · pixie ring · pixieness · pixilated · pixieing · pixie boot · pixie cut · pixie stick · manic pixie dream girl · pixiness · pixie-led · pixie moss · pixie-faced · pixieish · pixie cup · pixie-stool · pixilation · bixie · pixie hawkfish · pixielike · pixillated · pixie dust

Synonyms

fair · imp · brownie · sprite · gnome

Translations (28)

ro spiriduș (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · fr lutin (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · mk само́вилче (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · mr पिक्सी (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · de Kobold (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · ar بِيكْسِي (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · mk елф (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · cmn 精靈 /精灵 (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · ru пи́кси (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · hi पिक्सी (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · bg феичка (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · ko 픽시 (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · cs skřítek (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · es duende (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · it folletto (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · bg елф (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · el αερικό (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · pt duende (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · el ξωτικό (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · ru фе́я (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · fr pixie (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · ja ピクシー (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · ro zână (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · fi keiju (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · mk пи́кси (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · ru эльф (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · cs elf (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature) · hu manó (playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature)