fairy godmother
4
3.8
- noun
- /ˈfɛri ˈɡɑdˌmʌðər/
- Literature
:
hada madrina
- Every child dreams of having a fairy godmother who can grant them wishes and make their dreams come true.
- fairy godmother waved
Examples
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In the story, the fairy godmother used her magic to help Cinderella get to the ball.
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I'm your fairy godmother.
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Who are you, my fairy godmother?
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That is not what fairy godmothers are all about!
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Are you really the head of all the fairy godmothers?
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My fairy godmother turned me into a real boy.
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I had a fairy godmother, and Mother asked her to take the curse away.
Fiction book (1998) -
But my fairy godmother said Lucinda was the only one who could remove it.
Fiction book (1998) -
If only he'd listened to his fairy godmother.
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With a wave of her wand, the fairy godmother turned the pumpkin into a magnificent carriage.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A woman who uses magic and casts spells
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'fairy' (a magical being) with 'godmother' (a female benefactor or mentor): a woman who provides help, typically with a magical or fortunate quality. This compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically (e.g. Spanish 'hada madrina', French 'fée marraine') and follows transparent noun+noun semantics that a B1 learner who knows both constituents would understand.
Etymology
Fairy godmother comes from fairy tales where a small magical woman uses a wand to 'grant wishes' and change ordinary things to help the hero, like turning a pumpkin into a carriage. That's why the phrase means a kind, magical helper who brings 'good luck' or sudden help.