prairie fairy
- noun
- Literature
:
hada de la pradera
- The children searched the tall grasses, hoping to catch a glimpse of the prairie fairy.
Examples
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Legends say the prairie fairy appears to those who respect the land.
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The prairie fairy danced among the wildflowers.
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She decorated her room with pictures of the prairie fairy and wildflowers.
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In stories, prairie fairies bring good luck to farmers.
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Legends say the prairie fairy grants wishes to those who are kind to nature.
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The children often spoke about the magical prairie fairy they believed lived in the fields.
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In the evening, she told her friends tales of the prairie fairy who protected the prairies.
Synonyms
417
2.7
A small imagined being that looks like a person and has magic
5
9.9
A magical being like a fairy in stories and legends
3
9.9
A small magical creature that looks like a tiny person with wings and often plays tricks
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'prairie fairy' is directly interpretable as a fairy associated with or living in a prairie because its meaning is a straightforward composition of 'prairie' (treeless grassland) + 'fairy' (small magical being). This follows common noun-noun compounding patterns found across languages and therefore a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
The name prairie fairy may come from old stories about tiny, kind spirits seen in the tall grass. People thought a small light or quick movement was a helper of the land, so the picture of a little fairy on the prairie explains why the phrase means 'a small magical being connected with nature' today.