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definitions

aery

1

or aër·y

[air-ee, ey-uh-ree]
See more synonyms for aery on Thesaurus.com
adjective, aer·i·er, aer·i·est.
  1. ethereal; aerial.

Origin of aery

1
1580–90; < Latin āerius < Greek āérios, equivalent to āer- aer- + -ios adj. suffix
Related formsaer·i·ly, adverb

aery

2
[air-ee, eer-ee]
noun, plural aer·ies.
  1. aerie.

aerie

or aer·y

[air-ee, eer-ee]
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.
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

Related Words for aery

aerial, airy, bleary, cloudy, diaphanous, dim, ethereal, gauzy, gossamer, hazy, milky, misty, opalescent, opaque, pearly, sheer, transparent, vaporous, aery, blurred

Examples from the Web for aery

Historical Examples of aery

  • The aery of the Yosemite eagle is the most sublimely defiant of things built by bird, or beast, or man.

    Roof and Meadow

    Dallas Lore Sharp

  • Seizing in his hand his club of heavy knotted oak, he seeks with swift pace the aery mountain steep.

  • She spoke; but the other sped lightly down the aery sky, girt about with dark whirlwind on her echoing way.

  • The sunset begins to burn red behind Magdalen Tower, all the towers and aery pinnacles rise blue yet distinct against it.

    The Invader

    Margaret L. Woods

  • Not Age but Youth of centuries smiles from gray walls and aery pinnacles upon the joyous children of To-day.

    The Invader

    Margaret L. Woods

British Dictionary definitions for aery

aery

1
adjective poetic
  1. a variant spelling of airy
  2. lofty, insubstantial, or visionary

Word Origin for aery

C16: via Latin from Greek aērios, from aēr air

aery

2
noun plural aeries
  1. a variant spelling of eyrie

aerie

noun
  1. 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 aery

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."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper