The word "faerie" can be used somewhat interchangeably with "fairy," although their meanings can be and have historically been different. Both, I believe, come from Middle English. While fairy almost always describes "a magical, mischievous, imaginary being," faerie can be used to describe where these beings dwell. I think Tolkien wished to use faerie much as he did with Elves; that is, to alter the common connotations of the word in a mythological sense (I used to think of Elves as strickly small, mischevious creatures like fairies and muses). He probably dropped Faerie as a name for the abode of the Elves when he realized the name did not fit in aesthetically with the names and languages of Middle Earth.
<font size=1 color=339966>[ 7:24 AM December 10, 2003: Message edited by: Lord of Angmar ]
<font size=1 color=339966>[ 7:24 AM December 10, 2003: Message edited by: Lord of Angmar ]
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