Is that eagle a he or a she? from Georgia

Dear Word Spy,

I`m sure you already know this, but egress actually means exit, and not a female eagle.
Why is this so?

From your dictionary lover of a word spy,

Georgia

Dear Georgia,

This is a marvellous question. I have never thought about a female eagle before, but after a bit of spying I have discovered such a one is sometimes called an "eagless" (which sounds more like someone who has lost their eagle if you ask me.)

So the eagle family is Eagle, Eagless and Eaglet. And they all lived happily in an Aerie.

What a remarkable world we live in!

As for egress, that comes from Latin meaning "having stepped out" - whereas exit also comes from Latin meaning "having gone out." What you might call A FINE DISTINCTION!!

Now I must step out and go myself. More about eagles tomorrow...

yours in flight,

The Word Spy