As heterographs, aerie vs airy vs eerie sound alike but are spelled differently . . . oh. You noticed that? Okay, so before I get all airy up here in my aerie and get too eerie on ya . . .
. . . instead, we’ll fly into this post on Aerie vs Airy vs Eerie, and when you get up to your aerie, you may find it a bit airy . . . and don’t even think of looking down lest it get eerie when you see how high you are from the ground. Yeah, well, I suspect your significant other told ya not to build so high, lol.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Aerie | Airy | Eerie |
|---|---|---|
 — |
 — |
 — |
| Part of Grammar: | ||
| Noun
Plural: aeries, eyries Alternative spelling: aery, eyrie, eyry |
Adjective | Adjective |
A large nest of a bird of prey, especially an eagle, typically built high in a tree or on a cliff
[Obsolete] The brood in a nest, especially of a bird of prey |
[Of a room or building] Spacious, well lit, and well ventilated
Giving an impression of being unconcerned or not serious, typically about something taken seriously by others Light in appearance
Light in manner
Light in movement
Light as air
Visionary
Performed in the air
Lofty
Putting on airs
|
Strange and frightening
Uncanny, so as to inspire superstitious fear
[Especially of places, an atmosphere, etc.] Mysteriously or uncannily frightening or disturbing [Chiefly Scottish] Affected with superstitious fear |
| Examples: | ||
| Why is it so many evil villains build an aerie high up in the mountains?
I love living at the very top of the building in my very own aerie. Tell me again why Eric felt the need to build his aerie at the top of the mountain? |
I love the windows and how airy it makes the room feel.
The sky is so beautiful, filled with airy clouds. Her airy presence filled the house. She has such an airy unconcern for economy. Chiffon makes for such airy garments. She trained as a ballerina, hence that airy step. “Her and her airy-fairy dreams,” he said with a shrug. However did you get this cake to be so airy! She acted like some airy debutante posing for society photographers. |
Did you see that eerie green glow in the sky?
Whoa, that movie was eerie! I swear, Darryl. It was an eerie howl outside my window! This place is too eerie for me. I’m outta here! |
| Derivatives: | ||
| Adjective: airier, airiest, airy-fairy Noun: airiness |
Adjective: eerier, eeriest Adverb; eerily Noun: eeriness |
|
| History of the Word: | ||
| Late 15th century, from the medieval Latin aeria, aerea, eyria, which is probably from the Old French aire, from the Latin area meaning level piece of ground, in the late Latin, nest of a bird of prey. | Middle English, 1350-1400, ayery. | Middle English was originally northern English and Scots in the sense of fearful and is probably from the Old English earg meaning cowardly, and is of Germanic origin and related to the German arg. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Aerie vs Airy vs Eerie
Apple Dictionary.com
Pinterest Photo Credits:
The Road to Neverland, 2007, is Sigurdas’ own work under the CC BY 2.0 license, while S344 Golden Durga Idol by Mukerjee at English Wikipedia is in the public domain; both are via Wikimedia Commons.
Revised as of 29 Aug 2022
By: Kathy Davie