aerie, aery, airy, eyrie

The words aerie, aery, airy, eyrie sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Why do aerie, aery, airy, eyrie sound the same even though they are completely different words?

The answer is simple: aerie, aery, airy, eyrie are homophones of the English language.

aerie
  1. :: noun

    A house or stronghold perched on a height.

  2. :: noun

    The nest of a bird, such as an eagle, built on a cliff or other high place.

aery
  1. :: adjective

    Ethereal.

  2. :: noun

    Variant of aerie.

airy
  1. :: adjective

    Of, relating to, or having the constitution of air.

  2. :: adjective

    High in the air; lofty.

  3. :: adjective

    Open to the air: airy chambers.

  4. :: adjective

    Performed in the air; aerial.

eyrie
  1. :: noun

    Variant of aerie.

Definitions from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition and Wordnik.

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About Homophones

Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled.

If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are also heterographs (literally "different writing").