aerie

[air-ee, eer-ee] /ˈɛər i, ˈɪər i/
noun
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.
Obsolete. the brood in a nest, especially of a bird of prey.
Also, aery, eyrie, eyry.
Origin
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 confused
aerie, airy.
aerie, eerie, Erie.
Examples from the web for aerie
  • Refugees from aerie offices jostle for their ration of steak.
  • Each year, a succession of debutante receptions were held in the spacious aerie.
  • Ill, they could have installed themselves in the kind of sleek, plush aerie favored by many of their art-collector peers.
  • The mountaintop aerie of the story's villainous drug-dealing industrialist is one of numerous well-shot, well-chosen settings.
  • The architects spoke of a three-story tower, with bedrooms and a bird-watching aerie on the third floor.
  • If he caught one pointing for his aerie, he would block the way and bid her sternly begone.
  • The park has one bald eagle territory and one peregrine falcon aerie which are monitored annually.
British Dictionary definitions for aerie

aerie

/ˈɛərɪ; ˈɪərɪ/
noun
1.
a variant spelling (esp US) of eyrie

eyrie

/ˈɪərɪ; ˈɛərɪ; ˈaɪərɪ/
noun
1.
the nest of an eagle or other bird of prey, built in a high inaccessible place
2.
the brood of a bird of prey, esp an eagle
3.
any high isolated position or place
Word Origin
C16: from Medieval Latin airea, from Latin ārea open field, hence nest
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."