eerie
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English eri (“fearful”), from Old English earg (“cowardly, fearful”), from Proto-Germanic *argaz. Akin to Scots ergh, argh from the same Old English source. Doublet of argh.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɪɹi/
Audio (US) (file)
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɪəɹi/
Audio (UK) (file)
- Rhymes: -ɪəɹi
- Homophone: Erie
Adjective[edit]
eerie (comparative eerier, superlative eeriest)
- Strange, weird, fear-inspiring, especially in a shadowy or mysterious way.
- 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], OCLC 1042815524, part I, page 200:
- An eerie feeling came over me.
- 1943, H. Lorna Bingham, The Lost Tribe, Sydney: Winn and Co., page 13, column 2:
- Dan was beginning to feel very depressed when suddenly the eerie howl of a dingo rang out[.]
- (Scotland) Frightened, timid.
- 1883, George MacDonald, Donal Grant:
- She began to feel eerie.
- 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
- 'It is my business to read the hearts o' men,' said the other.
'And who may ye be?' said Heriotside, growing eerie.
- 'It is my business to read the hearts o' men,' said the other.
Synonyms[edit]
- See also Thesaurus:strange
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
weird
frightened
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
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- English doublets
- English 2-syllable words
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- Rhymes:English/ɪəɹi
- Rhymes:English/ɪəɹi/2 syllables
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- Scottish English
- en:Fear