*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of fae

From Old French fae, from Medieval Latin fāda. The use of the pronoun appears c. 2013.

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

Alternative spelling of fey (“fairy folk”).

pron

A gender-neutral third-person singular subject pronoun, equivalent to singular they, and coordinate with gendered pronouns he and she.

adj

Alternative spelling of fey (“magical, fairylike”).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Old French fae, from Medieval Latin fāda. The use of the pronoun appears c. 2013.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mentionfaefro
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "fae"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French fae"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-med",
        "3": "fāda"
      },
      "expansion": "Medieval Latin fāda"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "fae",
      "fae#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "fāda",
      "fada#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative spelling of fey (“fairy folk”)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "25788b641dba435598f405f9f6967a7d7dcdaf3a0698607413c57a2f2ba95c99",
      "rawRecordSha256": "4dcf5d3d7f99d7c29d650ac669acbe8583dd4cfee701c13d309ef5dedb744f13",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 572328
    },
    {
      "pos": "pron",
      "glosses": [
        "A gender-neutral third-person singular subject pronoun, equivalent to singular they, and coordinate with gendered pronouns he and she."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "neologism",
        "nonstandard",
        "rare"
      ],
      "recordId": "c43ac5b84273446bf3c482ed65465c6fd23d8aca395b92b2fb761826c59ee2f1",
      "rawRecordSha256": "b9d5bd978c8577d3c706da89dfd3e1a4e7d17c4b14eac4a38d4354acbd6ed479",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 572329
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative spelling of fey (“magical, fairylike”)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ],
      "recordId": "fc40afa4fc45e9d0b104ab870a1e9d0c5de06cac7e6dbcc3aa3a8926d1193998",
      "rawRecordSha256": "fc94ab53ab86a20cf14d298c30f852c900c22ba484a8b568c37e644aeb317b6a",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 572327
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for fae →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-ZmFl