A sprite is a small, mischievous fairy or elf from folklore and fantasy stories. Sprites are usually depicted as quick, playful creatures who might help someone solve a problem or play harmless tricks. In Shakespeare's play The Tempest, the spirit Ariel is sometimes called a sprite and uses magic to help the wizard Prospero. In many stories, sprites are connected to nature: they might live in forests, dance in moonlight, or guard hidden springs.

The word captures something light, quick, and clever. People sometimes describe a particularly energetic or playful child as sprightly (spelled with an extra “l”), meaning full of energy and spirit.

In video games and computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that moves around on screen. The ghosts in Pac-Man, the characters in early Mario games, and the creatures in Pokémon games are all sprites. Programmers chose this word because these little digital characters dart around the screen like the quick, magical sprites of folklore. Game designers create sprites by drawing each frame of movement, then programming the computer to display them in sequence to create the illusion of motion.