pixie

View more Literature & Language videos

pisky

This is the standard term in Devon, Cornwall, and Somerset for a fairy, though many writers from the early 19th century onwards have insisted that the two races are quite distinct; the word is probably related to Puck. One distinctive feature is the belief in Devon and Cornwall that pixies are the ghosts of babies who died unbaptized, an explanation often given for the Will-o'-the-Wisp, but not for other English fairies. However, stories told elsewhere about fairies are told of pixies in the south-west, for example that they ask a human midwife to assist at their births, abduct babies and leave changelings, steal from human homes, etc.

Their best-known characteristic is causing people to lose their way, even in a familiar neighbourhood; victims can escape by turning some item of clothing inside out. They may do this by appearing as a flickering light, or by turning into what seems to be a horse (a ‘colt-pixy’) and luring the traveller's own horse into a bog. They may operate either singly or in groups; the latter may be seen dancing in circles. They invade stables at night, tangling the horses’ manes and making them sweat; they cause strange noises and play tricks, like poltergeists.

However, single pixies are sometimes credited with being helpful, like brownies, and like them will cease working if spied on, thanked, mocked, or given clothes. In the latter case, proud and delighted, the pixy disappears, crying:

Pixy fine, pixy gay,
Pixy now will run away.

Bibliography
The full bibliography list is available here.

• Pixy tales will be found in Bray, 1836
• Bottrell, 1870-90
• Hunt, 1865
• Courtney, 1890
• Tongue, 1965

---

IN BRIEF: n. - (folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous; Creeping evergreen shrub having narrow overlapping leaves and early white star-shaped flowers.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

For a list of words related to pixie, see:

• Hair Styles - pixie: short, layered haircut
• Hats - pixie: woman’s skullcap with pointed crown
• Affectionate Reference
• Mythological and Folkloric Beings - pixie: fairy, said to be spirit of dead child

---

See words rhyming with "pixie."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Pixie.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - nisse

idioms:

• pixie hat    nissehue

Nederlands (Dutch)
fee, ondeugend

Français (French)
n. - lutin

idioms:

• pixie hat    chapeau de lutin

Deutsch (German)
n. - Kobold

idioms:

• pixie hat    spitz zulaufendes Käppchen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - νεράιδα, αερικό, ξωτικό

idioms:

• pixie hat    αποκριάτικο (μυτερό) παιδικό καπέλο

Italiano (Italian)
folletto

idioms:

• pixie hat    cappello di fata

Português (Portuguese)
n. - duende (m)

idioms:

• pixie hat    chapéu de duende

Русский (Russian)
эльф

idioms:

• pixie hat    заостренная шляпа

Español (Spanish)
n. - duendecillo, hada, espíritu travieso

idioms:

• pixie hat    sombrero puntiagudo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - naturväsen, tomtenisse, toppig mössa

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
小妖精, 小精灵

idioms:

• pixie hat    尖顶帽

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 小妖精, 小精靈

idioms:

• pixie hat    尖頂帽

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 작은 요정

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 小妖精

idioms:

• pixie hat    とがり帽

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) جنيه صغيرة مرحه, عابث, مرح, مزوح‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שדונת, פייה, גמד‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.