Erie

[ eer-ee ]

noun,plural E·ries, (especially collectively) E·rie for 3.
  1. Lake, a lake between the NE central United States and SE central Canada: the southernmost lake of the Great Lakes; site of the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813 in which Commodore Perry defeated the British. 239 miles (385 km) long; 9,940 sq. mi. (25,745 sq. km).

  2. a port in NW Pennsylvania, on Lake Erie.

  1. a member of a tribe of American Indians formerly living along the southern shore of Lake Erie.

Origin of Erie

1
From Erie (an Iroquoian language) Erie, Eriez, shortening of Erielhonan “long tail” (the Erie were called the Cat People, referring to the cougar)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Erie in a sentence

  • In this way the Eries were in turn surprised and defeated in their last game with their rivals.

    Ocean to Ocean on Horseback | Willard Glazier
  • All is peaceful, until an Iroquois scouting party, passing near, shoots the chief of the Eries.

    Ethel Morton at Chautauqua | Mabell S. C. Smith
  • After the destruction of the Eries by the Iroquois in 1655, Ohio was left practically uninhabited for a hundred and fifty years.

    Influences of Geographic Environment | Ellen Churchill Semple
  • In their own parlance, these Indians were the "Eries," and in the seventeenth century they numbered about two thousand warriors.

  • The Iroquois were warring against the Eries and wanted arms from the French.

British Dictionary definitions for Erie (1 of 2)

Erie1

/ (ˈɪərɪ) /


noun
  1. plural Eries or Erie a member of a North American Indian people formerly living south of Lake Erie

  2. the language of this people, possibly belonging to the Iroquoian family

British Dictionary definitions for Erie (2 of 2)

Erie2

/ (ˈɪərɪ) /


noun
  1. Lake Erie a lake between the US and Canada: the southernmost and the shallowest of the Great Lakes; empties by the Niagara River into Lake Ontario. Area: 25 718 sq km (9930 sq miles)

  2. a port in NW Pennsylvania, on Lake Erie. Pop: 101 373 (2003 est)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012