fae (English)

Where does "fae" come from?

The word 'fae' finds its roots in the Medieval Latin 'fāda', which shares a connection to the Latin 'fāta', meaning fate or the Fates. It traversed into Old French as 'fae' before entering English to describe fairy folk, and in recent years, it has evolved into a unique pronoun.

Full etymology tree

• fae (English), 'Alternative spelling of fey (“fairy folk”).'
  • inherited fae (Old French)
    • inherited fāda (Latin), 'fāta'

Direct ancestors

• fada (Latin)

Updated June 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris