Editing Aos Sí (section)

==In Irish folklore==
Due to the oral nature of Irish folklore, the exact origins of the fairies are not well defined. There are enough stories to support two possible origins. The fairies could either be [[fallen angel]]s or the descendants of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]]; in the latter case, this is equivalent with ''aos sí''.<ref>{{cite book| last = Yeates| first = W. B.| year = 1977| title = Fairy and Folk Tales of Ireland| publisher = Collin Smythe Gerrards Cross| location = Buckinghamshire| isbn = 0-900675-59-4}}</ref> In the former case, it is said that the fairies are angels who have fallen from heaven, but whose sins were not great enough to warrant hell.<ref name="croker" />

In many [[Gael]]ic tales, the ''aos sí'' are later literary versions of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] ("People of the [[Danu (Irish goddess)|Goddess Danu]]")—the deities and deified ancestors of [[Irish mythology]]. Some sources describe them as the survivors of the Tuatha Dé Danann who retreated into the [[Otherworld]] when fleeing the mortal Sons of [[Míl Espáine]] who, like many other early invaders of Ireland, came from Iberia. As part of the terms of their surrender to the [[Milesians (Irish)|Milesians]], the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] agreed to retreat and dwell underground.

In folk belief and practice, the ''aos sí'' are often appeased with offerings and care is taken to avoid angering or insulting them. Often, they are not named directly, but rather spoken of as "The Good Neighbours", "The Fair Folk", or simply "The Folk". The most common names for them, ''aos sí'', ''aes sídhe'', ''daoine sídhe'' (singular ''duine sídhe'') and ''daoine sìth'' mean, literally, "people of the mounds" (referring to the ''sídhe''). The ''aos sí'' are generally described as stunningly beautiful, though they can also be terrible and hideous.

''Aos sí'' are seen as fierce guardians of their abodes—whether a fairy hill, a [[fairy ring]], a special tree (often a [[Crataegus monogyna|whitethorn]]) or a particular [[loch]] or wood. It is believed that infringing on these spaces will cause the ''aos sí'' to retaliate in an effort to remove the people or objects that invaded their homes. Many of these tales contribute to the [[changeling]] myth in [[Western Europe|west European]] [[folklore]], with the ''aos sí'' kidnapping trespassers or replacing their children with changelings as a punishment for transgressing. The ''aos sí'' are often connected to certain times of year and hours; as the [[Tír na nÓg|Gaelic Otherworld]] is believed to come closer to the mortal world at the times of dusk and dawn, the ''aos sí'' correspondingly become easier to encounter. Some festivals such as [[Samhain]], [[Bealtaine]] and [[Midsummer]] are also associated with the ''aos sí.''

===The ''sídhe''===
A ''sídh'' (anglicized 'shee') is burial mound ([[Tumulus#Ireland|tumuli]]) associated with the ''aos sí''. In modern Irish, the word is ''sí'' (plural ''síthe''); in Scottish Gaelic it is ''sìth'' (plural ''sìthean''); in Old Irish it is ''síd'' (plural ''síde'').<ref name="DIL" /> These ''sídhe'' are referred to in English as 'fairy mounds', 'elf mounds' or 'hollow hills'.<ref name="Williams 30"/>  

In some later English-language texts, the word ''sídhe'' is incorrectly used both for the mounds and the people of the mounds. For example, [[W. B. Yeats]], writing in 1908, referred to the ''aos sí'' simply as "the ''sídhe''".<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Collected Works in Verse and Prose of William Butler Yeats|last=Yeats|first=William Butler|author-link=W. B. Yeats|year=1908|page=3|publisher=Shakespeare Head|place=Stratford-on-Avon, UK|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1pcnAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA227 }}</ref> However, ''sidh'' in older texts refers specifically to "the palaces, courts, halls or residences" of the otherworldly beings that supposedly inhabit them.<ref>O'Curry, E., Lectures on Manuscript Materials, Dublin 1861, p. 504, quoted by Evans-Wentz 1966, p. 291</ref>

===Other names in Irish folklore===
The ''Aos sí'' are known by many names in Ireland, among them:<ref name="sidhe" />
* ''Aingil Anúabhair'': "Proud angels"
* ''Daoine Uaisle': "The noble folk"
* ''Daoine maithe'': "Good people"
* ''Deamhan Aerig'': "Air demons"
* ''Dream Anúabhair'': "Excessively proud [people]"
* ''Sídhfir'': "fairy men"
* ''Sídheógaídhe'': "Young Moundlings"
* ''Slúagh Cille'':  "Host of the churchyard"
* ''Slúagh na Marbh'': "Host of the dead"
* ''Slúagh Sídhe'': "Mound host"
* ''Slúagh-Sídhe-Thúatha-Dé-Danann'': "Mound host of the Túatha Dé Danann"
* ''na Uaisle'': "The noble" or "The gentry"