aerie

or aer·y

[air-ee, eer-ee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR aerie ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural aer·ies.

the nest of a bird of prey, as an eagle or a hawk.

a lofty nest of any large bird.

a house, fortress, or the like, located high on a hill or mountain.

an apartment or office on a high floor in a high-rise building: a penthouse aerie with a spectacular view.

Obsolete. the brood in a nest, especially of a bird of prey.

Also eyrie, eyr·y.

Origin of aerie

1575–85; < Anglo-French, Old French airie, equivalent to aire (< Latin ager field, presumably “nest” in Vulgar Latin; see acre) + ie -y³; compare Medieval Latin aerea, aeria “aerie, brood” < Old French aire

Can be confusedaerie airyaerie eerie Erie

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for aerie

brood, penthouse

Examples from the Web for aerie

Historical Examples of aerie

The great panorama of the Gulf lay unfolded beneath their aerie.
Terry
Charles Goff Thomson
Dr. Jones and Will now returned from their aerie, the observatory.
Doctor Jones' Picnic
S. E. Chapman
Slowly he climbed the steep and crooked trail to their aerie at the peak.
Foes in Ambush
Charles King
A single pair for many years had their aerie in the top of a huge dead sycamore tree, near the head of Burnt Ship Bay.
The Falls of Niagara and Other Famous Cataracts
George W. Holley
He was in a very eagle's aerie; the upper rim of Khinian's gorge seemed not more than a quarter of a mile above him.
King--of the Khyber Rifles
Talbot Mundy

British Dictionary definitions for aerie

aerie

noun

a variant spelling (esp US) of eyrie

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 aerie

"eagle's nest," 1580s (attested in Anglo-Latin from early 13c.), from Old French aire "nest," Medieval Latin area "nest of a bird of prey" (12c.), perhaps from Latin area "level ground, garden bed" [Littré], though some doubt this [Klein]. Another theory connects it to atrium. Formerly misspelled eyrie (1660s) on the mistaken assumption that it derived from Middle English ey "egg."