lair1
[lair]
- a den or resting place of a wild animal: The cougar retired to its lair.
- a secluded or hidden place, especially a secret retreat or base of operations; a hideout or hideaway: a pirate's lair.
- British. a place in which to lie or rest; a bed.
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- to place in a lair.
- to serve as a lair for.
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- to go to, lie in, or have a lair.
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Origin of lair1
before 900; Middle English leir, Old English leger; cognate with Dutch, Old High German leger bed, camp; akin to lie2
lair2
[lair]
- British Dialect. mud; mire.
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- Scot. to sink or stick in mud or mire.
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Origin of lair2
lair3
[lair]
- lore; learning.
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Origin of lair3
lair4
[lair]
- a man who dresses garishly and is crude or vulgar; showoff.
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Origin of lair4
First recorded in 1930–35; back formation from lairy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for lair
Contemporary Examples
“The lair of the laser loves all of you,” he tells a visiting Atlas Obscura tour group.
In January the actor kidnapped Kimmel, tying him up in his lair.
He was not a recluse, however, as the documents and electronic chips recovered by the SEALs from his lair revealed.
Reuters got hold of photos taken by a Pakistani security official reportedly only an hour after the U.S. stormed bin Laden's lair.
His lair is not normal, but it can at least pass for a suburban house.
Historical Examples
It is used by their prickers and huntsmen when the beast hath not fled, but is still in its lair.
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
Saying no word, out of his lair he came with that terrible sword of his aloft.
Fair MargaretH. Rider Haggard
The Huron arose, and shook himself like a lion quitting his lair.
The Last of the MohicansJames Fenimore Cooper
Nothing would do, but to go up into his lair, and drag him out.
Welsh Fairy TalesWilliam Elliott Griffis
It tried hard to crawl into its lair, or slip into the lake.
Welsh Fairy TalesWilliam Elliott Griffis
lair1
- the resting place of a wild animal
- informal a place of seclusion or hiding
- an enclosure or shed for farm animals
- Scot the ground for a grave in a cemetery
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- (intr) (esp of a wild animal) to retreat to or rest in a lair
- (tr) to drive or place (an animal) in a lair
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Word Origin
Old English leger; related to lie ² and Old High German leger bed
lair2
- a Scot word for mire
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Word Origin
from Old Norse leir mud
lair3
- a flashy man who shows off
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- (intr; foll by up or around) to behave or dress like a lair
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Word Origin
perhaps from leer
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
Word Origin and History for lair
n.
Old English leger "bed, couch, grave; act or place of lying down," from Proto-Germanic *legraz (cf. Old Norse legr "grave," also "nuptials" ("a lying down"); Old Frisian leger "situation," Old Saxon legar "bed," Middle Dutch legher "act or place of lying down," Dutch leger "bed, camp," Old High German legar "bed, a lying down," German Lager "bed, lair, camp, storehouse," Gothic ligrs "place of lying"), from PIE *legh- "to lie, lay" (see lie (v.2)). Meaning "animal's den" is from early 15c.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper