eyrie
/ˈɪə.ɹi/
Etymology
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.
eyrie means the nest of a bird of prey. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 80 out of 100.
Why this word is great
EYRIE — [Noun] The nest of a bird of prey, especially an eagle, built high on a cliff or other inaccessible place. From Middle English eire, aire, from Old French aire ("eagle's nest, lair"), likely from Latin ārea ("open space, threshing floor"), with the sense development perhaps via "breeding ground." Unlike "nest" (a prosaic term of woven twigs and down) or "stronghold" (a citadel of deliberate human fortification), an eyrie is a command earned by altitude and solitude. It is a scrap-heap of bleached bones wedged into a granite fissure; the cradle-rock of a gale screaming up a sheer rock face; the silent survey of valleys reduced to a green tapestry. It is the ultimate argument that true security lies not in walls, but in the sheer, isolating cost of the approach.
noun
- The nest of a bird of prey.“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 hollo”
- Any high and remote but commanding place.