Fey: a little word with a lot of baggage

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Once this little three letter word's general meaning in British dialect was "marked for death or fated to die." In its limited use today, it is not quite so serious. I first heard the word, as I recall, when I was in college and a graduate student friend of mine referred to another literature major, saying "Joel is "fey." I knew that it did not mean "gay," but thinking about Joel, the word "fey" did seem to fit. "Whimsical, strange, other worldly" are other ways to say "fey" and Joel was all those. I have since since seen the word used in some novels, including one recently voted America's favorite, "To Kill A Mockingbird, where in Chapter 16, the son of a quite incompetent Confederate general in the American Civil War is spoken of as "fey." By the way, I lost track of Joel, but occasionally drive by his apartment house where many great parties were held and wonder how he lived out his life.