Lair
/lɛər/noun
A resting place or den, especially for a wild animal or a secretive person.
Did you know?The word is historically linked to a Germanic root meaning a bed or resting place, so a beast’s “lair” began as a place to lie down before it became a den of menace.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*legh-
“to lie down, lie flat”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*lagrą
“a lying place; bed, couch”
Old English
OE
leger
“a lying place; bed, couch, burial place”
Middle English
ME
lair
“a bed, couch; later, a resting place or den”
Modern English
English
lair
“a den or secret resting place, especially for an animal or villain”