fairy vs fey

fairy

adj
  • Like a fairy; fanciful, whimsical, delicate. 

noun
  • A male homosexual, especially one who is effeminate. 

  • A mythical being with magical powers, known in many sizes and descriptions, although often depicted in modern illustrations only as a small sprite with gauze-like wings, and revered in some modern forms of paganism. 

  • An enchantress, or creature of overpowering charm. 

  • A legendary Chinese immortal. 

  • A member of two species of hummingbird in the genus Heliothryx. 

fey

adj
  • Magical or fairylike. 

  • Overrefined, affected. 

  • Strange or otherworldly. 

  • Spellbound. 

  • Possessing second sight, clairvoyance, or clairaudience. 

noun
  • Fairy folk collectively. 

How often have the words fairy and fey occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )