Thursday, July 26, 2012

How do you spell the word fairy?

Since the majority of my business is online, I spend a lot of time coming up with appropriate tags, keywords, and search terms for all of my shop listings and website.

One search term that is super important but constantly stumps me is the word fairy! It seems like an easy one and definitely essential as about 1/3 of my images are fairies. But what I've discovered is that fairy is spelled so many different ways. There are also many different spellings for the plural form of fairy.

So, what I would love to know is how do YOU spell "fairy"? And how do you spell "fairies"?


5 comments:

  1. In my opinion there is no 'wrong' way to spell Fairy, however it depends on what time period your 'fairy' is supposed to symbolize. Such as, ancient druids and such referred to them as Fae, or Faeries. In those instances though, as I believe it anyways, Fae were not just little things with wings, it referred to 'delicate' or 'elf' like people. I believe that Fairy, or Fairies, is a more modern spelling, and one most recognized by people today. Ultimately I think it's up to you how you spell it. Fairies are an interesting topic, some people see them as beautiful and sparkling healing entities, while others see them as mischievous and crafty little devils. Kind of like a good and a bad, a yin and a yang, there is a balance in everything.

    Sorry, rambling lol, but that's to my knowledge and opinion. :)

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  2. I agree with BreAnna. Personally I generally use the terms Fairy & Fairies; when I see Fae or Faery it does project the image of something ancient and earthly.

    The main thing I think is that you choose the term that you feel represents your work the best and go with that. I know that Jasmine Becket-Griffith uses both terms for her work. I would think that if people are using it as a search term them will probably use both words.

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  3. Thanks so much for the feedback BreAnna and Miamina! I really appreciate it. I tend to spell it fairy and fairies. But often for search terms, I will throw in faery, faerie, faeries, etc...

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  4. My preferred spelling (and the one I use in my own art) is Faerie or Faeries. As the others said, it feels more ancient and mystical than the modern spelling. I use all the spellings I can think of for search terms though. :)

    - Sasha
    www.lacewinged.com

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  5. I love the old spellings, Fae, Faerie, Faeries. And agree with above ladies. Seems more ancient and exotic. Fairy makes me think of Tooth fairy and Tinker Bell. Yes, I know Tinker Bell is a Pixie, but kids think they are all fairies.

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