# a spelling question: fay or fae?



## beccaprice (Oct 1, 2011)

for a children's collection - I refer to the fae folk as a general term encompassing elves, brownies, fairies, and the dragon - basically as an inclusive for any magical creature that lives in the Wide Wild Wood.

so - should it be fae or fay?

I think adult fantasy has pretty much settled on fae.

I'll define the term the first time I use it.


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## Shei Darksbane (Jan 31, 2015)

Fae is my preferred spelling. *shrug* I think as long as people can read what you're writing it will be fine. 
Since it's children's it may be easier to say "Fay" because "fae" may be more confusing?  But if you're going to define it the first time you use it, maybe you can include a pronunciation guide "Sounds like "fay" and use "Fae".


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

Fae.  Unless Fay is actually a legitimate alternate spelling?  I hadn't heard that.


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## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

HSh said:


> Fae. Unless Fay is actually a legitimate alternate spelling? I hadn't heard that.


Fae, fay, and fey are all legit spellings. Oddly enough, I'd never even heard "fae" until the surge of urban fantasy and paranormal romance.


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

HSh said:


> Fae. Unless Fay is actually a legitimate alternate spelling? I hadn't heard that.


It certainly is:


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## dgrant (Feb 5, 2014)

Fay's been around for... well, how old is Morgan Le Fay?

Given we've been talking about faeries for a lot longer than we've had standardized english spelling, Fay, Fey, and Fae are all legit forms. I usually see Fae with adult urban fantasy, Fay with older faerie/fairy tales, and Fey in the scottish sense - fated to die soon, fully aware of it, and full of "to heck with the world!"  (He flashed a fey smile, as he checked his guns.)


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## beccaprice (Oct 1, 2011)

I think fae is short for faery. Fay is (I think) the french word for fairy, or something like that.


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## Steve Vernon (Feb 18, 2011)

"Fae" is actually Old Scottish for "from".

It has become more accepted as a term for the fairy folk - or the faery folk - thanks to role playing games such as D&D etc.

"Fay" was the original term - from the Middle English "faie" a word whose meaning leaned heavily into "faith", "fate" and "fairy".

"Fey" was the bastardized spelling of "fay".

In the end, language is nothing more than fingerpainting with the alphabet. You call your race "fae" and people will know what you are talking about. You call them "fay" and they will know too.

You call them "fudgepot" and there is no help for you.


(warning, cold meds in effect)


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## EthanRussellErway (Nov 17, 2011)

I like the Fae spelling too.  I don't think it matters, though, as long as you're consistent.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

I think fae looks prettier and that way there is no confusion that you are talking about fairies (or just use fairy) instead of a person named Fay.


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## Chris Northern (Jan 20, 2011)

For me it depends what feel you are looking for. Fae is closer to faery, as you say in your opening comments. If the close to origin, traditional feel is what you are looking for, then that might be best. Fay works, of course, but is little further removed and opens up a broader interpretation. Or even fey, which I used because I wanted to be one step further removed from the traditions and origins that immediately spring to the readers mind.

Hope that makes as much sense as it sounded like it did when I thought it.


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## 69959 (May 14, 2013)

I've seen them all used, but far prefer fae.


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## Shiriluna Nott (Aug 26, 2014)

I've always used Fae.


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## Peter Spenser (Jan 26, 2012)

beccaprice said:


> I think adult fantasy has pretty much settled on _fae_.


Uh, *no*! I hate the "fae" spelling and never use it. It is unfortunate that it has come into such widespread use for all sorts of things by people who have no background in philology. (_"Ooooh, let's be really clever and use this odd and interesting spelling to make our stuff sound authentic!"_) Tolkien suggested "faerie" as the name of the place (though he didn't insist upon it), with "fairy" as the name of the beings. In keeping with long-established historical usage in the English language, I use "Fairyland" for the place, to coincide with (among others) Lord Dunsany's use of "Elfland" in his book _The King of Elfland's Daughter_.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

As pointed out in such very old usages as Morgan le Fay, fay is the much older and more traditional spelling. It just depends on what you're going for.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

Either is correct but fae has become the more popular spelling in recent years. In the past, it was more commonly fay.


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## PhoenixS (Apr 5, 2011)

**********


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## Chris Northern (Jan 20, 2011)

I thought fae was roughly 11-12th century and French, with fay following a good bit later. Not that it matters that much. It's more about the feel of the word than the precise etymology, imho. 

I always think of sailing ships in movies like Columbus when this kind of subject surfaces; the ships in this kind of movie are often shown as bare, brown wood. But the reality is that that wood needs protecting with paint, ordered by the quartermaster, who is on a budget. So cheap paint. Whatever the chandler happened to have lying around the place, probably. I'm pretty sure those ships were multicolored; green, blue, yellow, red, black, whatever, and probably changed during the voyage. But that's not what we expect to see. We expect bare wood, so that's what most many movies give us. Even knowing better, if the movie had shown us multicolored patchwork ships it would have looked wrong, felt wrong, detracted from the movie.

So, anyway, my point is that fae might well not actually be older, more archaic, but it feels like it should be. To me, it does, and who else's judgement am I going to use? No matter what one decides, there will be a percentage of readers who disagree, and some quite firmly. best to do what feels right to you... isn't that the very essence of creativity? Unless you are writing history.... but eve then, remember the ships.

Warming to the theme here, I'll give a reverse example. In one fantasy novel I used the word split and was picked up on it being a modern word that clashed. I know the word derives from Old Dutch, splitten, and is respectably archaic, which is why I used it. But even being (to some degree) right, I was clearly wrong, because most readers likely won't know the etymology of the word (or care, probably). Right and wrong might not come into it, it might be that the most likely perception of the majority of your readers is what matters.

Anyway, I'm back to the Rugby.


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## von19 (Feb 20, 2013)

Fai


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## UnicornEmily (Jul 2, 2011)

Fae.  It seems more mysterious, somehow.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Fae just because   Okay, it looks better on the page. it's a bit like seeing Unseelie and Seelie for the types of faerie elves on the page. Just has that otherworldly feel or tone to it.


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