page_title: Sprite (folklore)
section_title: Belief in sprites
hierarchical_section_title: Sprite (folklore) / Belief in sprites
caption_attribution_description: A scene of two fairies from the book Princess Nobody
context_page_description: A sprite is a supernatural entity in European mythology. They are often depicted as fairy-like creatures or as an ethereal entity.
  The word sprite is derived from the Latin spiritus, via the French esprit. Variations on the term include spright and the Celtic spriggan. The term is chiefly used in regard to elves and fairies in European folklore, and in modern English is rarely used in reference to spirits.
context_section_description: The belief in diminutive beings such as sprites, elves, fairies, etc. has been common in many parts of the world, and might to some extent still be found within neo-spiritual and religious movements such as "neo-druidism" and Ásatrú.
  In some elemental magics, the sprite is often believed to be the elemental of air (see also sylph).
caption: The prince thanking the Water sprite, from The Princess Nobody: A Tale of Fairyland (1884) by Andrew Lang
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