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aerie

or aer·y

[air-ee, eer-ee]
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noun, plural aer·ies.
  1. the nest of a bird of prey, as an eagle or a hawk.
  2. a lofty nest of any large bird.
  3. a house, fortress, or the like, located high on a hill or mountain.
  4. an apartment or office on a high floor in a high-rise building: a penthouse aerie with a spectacular view.
  5. Obsolete. the brood in a nest, especially of a bird of prey.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for aerie

Historical Examples

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

British Dictionary definitions for aerie

aerie

noun
  1. a variant spelling (esp US) of eyrie
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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

n.

"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."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper