fey

/feɪ/

//feɪ// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"fey" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fey” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #29,654) as an adjective. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#29,654
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - About to die; doomed; on the verge of sudden or violent death.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fey · fey · English

fey · rank #29,654 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,654
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH federalism

Nearest frequency peer: federalism (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “fey”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “fey” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

fey vs fi
33% similar
fey vs FL
0% similar
fey vs FM
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for fey
PropertyValue
Headwordfey
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/feɪ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#29,654
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “fey”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).feylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “federalism” (#29,653), “figuratively” (#29,655), “fizz” (#29,656). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fey” is #29,654. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for fey is neighbouring look-alikes ("fi", "FL", …), not just typos; it is anadjective pronounced /feɪ/. Frequency #29,654 among 2,507 “F” headwords. 6 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Zero misspellings are on record for fey in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fi", "FL", "FM", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English feye (“fated to die”), from Old English fǣġe (“doomed to die, timid”), from Proto-West Germanic *faigī, from Proto-Germanic *faigijaz (“cowardly, wicked”), from Proto-Indo-European *peyk- (“ill-meaning, bad”). Akin to Old Saxon fēgi, whe… The correct English form is fey, spelled F-E-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    About to die; doomed; on the verge of sudden or violent death.
  2. 2
    Dying; dead.
  3. 3
    Possessing second sight, clairvoyance, or clairaudience.
  4. 4
    Overrefined, affected.
  5. 5
    Strange or otherworldly.
  6. 6
    Spellbound.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how fey appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Surely the Gods have made him fey, having ordained his destruction and our humbling before these Demons.
  2. Then Fëanor laughed as one fey, and he cried: “None and none! What I have left behind I count now no loss; needless baggage on the road it has proved. Let those that cursed my name, curse me still, and whine their way back to the cages of the Valar! Let the ships burn!”

Etymology

From Middle English feye (“fated to die”), from Old English fǣġe (“doomed to die, timid”), from Proto-West Germanic *faigī, from Proto-Germanic *faigijaz (“cowardly, wicked”), from Proto-Indo-European *peyk- (“ill-meaning, bad”). Akin to Old Saxon fēgi, whence Dutch veeg (“doomed, near death”), Old High German feigi (“appointed for death, ungodly”) whence German feige (“cowardly”), Old Norse feigr (“doomed”) whence the Icelandic feigur (“doomed to die”), Old English fāh (“outlawed, hostile”). More at foe.

This word in other languages

etéreo(Español)envoûté(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fey"?
"fey" is spelled F-E-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /feɪ/.
What does "fey" mean?
As an adjective, "fey" means: About to die; doomed; on the verge of sudden or violent death.
What words are commonly confused with "fey"?
"fey" is commonly confused with "fi", "FL", "FM". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fey"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fey" is /feɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "fey"?
From Middle English feye (“fated to die”), from Old English fǣġe (“doomed to die, timid”), from Proto-West Germanic *faigī, from Proto-Germanic *faigijaz (“cowardly, wicked”), from Proto-Indo-European *peyk- (“ill-meaning, bad”). Akin to Old Saxon... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "fey", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

GRE#29,675IMG#29,690CCA#29,588ley#29,720

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list