Wiktionary

eyrie

English

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WOTD – 26 May 2012

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English eire, aire, from Old French aire or Medieval Latin aeria. Old French aire, in the sense of an eagle's nest, may have derived from Latin ager, or may less likely be related to the other senses, ultimately from Latin ārea.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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eyrie (plural eyries)

  1. The nest of a bird of prey.
    • 1943, Casey A. Wood, F. Marjorie Fyfe, “How to reach the eyrie”, in The Art of Falconry, volume 2, translation of original by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, →ISBN, page 129:
      The methods employed to ascend to the nest of a bird of prey depend, in each instance, upon its site. If the nest is in a tree, a man can climb up and, having put the young ones in a basket, carry them home. If, however, the eyrie is built in the fissure of a lofty rock, a man is secured to the end of a rope and descends or is lowered from the rim of the mountain or cliff to the level of the hollow in which the eyrie is built and, entering, lifts the bird from the nest.
  2. Any high and remote but commanding place.

Translations

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