But of course Shakespeare also used it in the context of fairies, as in Mercutio's Queen Mab speech in R&J:

"O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.
She is the fairies' midwife, and she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate-stone
On the fore-finger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomies
Athwart men's noses as they lie asleep"

Claire