Erie
Americannoun
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Eries,
plural
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Erie
plural
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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).
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a port in NW Pennsylvania, on Lake Erie.
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a member of a tribe of American Indians formerly living along the southern shore of Lake Erie.
noun
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a member of a North American Indian people formerly living south of Lake Erie
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the language of this people, possibly belonging to the Iroquoian family
noun
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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)
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a port in NW Pennsylvania, on Lake Erie. Pop: 101 373 (2003 est)
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of Erie
From Erie (an Iroquoian language) Erie, Eriez, shortening of Erielhonan “long tail” (the Erie were called the Cat People, referring to the cougar)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He was also the central character in Gregory Sass's 1985 children's novel Redcoat, and the Fort Erie Visitor Centre in Ontario has a display dedicated to him.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
The tiny village is nestled along the southern shore of Lake Erie and offers a mix of multimillion-dollar estates and more modest residences.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
So, Molly and her husband took Eunice to a hotel on Lake Erie and checked into a two-bedroom suite.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
The names of four of the Great Lakes - Ontario, Huron, Michigan and Erie - originate from indigenous words.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
“A story on zebra mussels in Lake Erie, and you know Pittsburgh has had its own problems with invasive wildlife.”
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
“This aquifer, they estimate, contains eight Lake Eries of water, and they have already nearly depleted one. It’s like draining the Great Lakes, but we don’t see it.”
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 11, 2016
Among the first proprietors of this section were the Eries.
From Ocean to Ocean on Horseback Being the Story of a Tour in the Saddle from the Atlantic to the Pacific; with Especial Reference to the Early History and Devel by Willard W. Glazier
They turned their faces upon the Eries, and where are the Eries now?
From The Refugees by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
After a long war, the Eries were practically wiped out by the Iroquois, in 1656, the few survivors being adopted into the Iroquois confederacy.
From The Makers of Canada: Index and Dictionary of Canadian History by Various
Why hast thou, Spirit, beguiled us into the toils of our enemies, the Eries?
From Traditions of the North American Indians, Vol. 3 by James Athearn Jones
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