AIRE, an English river which rises in the West Riding of Yorkshire and pursues a south-easterly course through the populous “clothing district” of which Leeds is the capital. At Castleford, below Leeds, it receives a small tributary, thé Calder, and it joins the Ouse shortly before that river’s expansion into the estuary of the Humber above Hull. It is navigable to Leeds for small craft.

AIRE, a fortified town of France, on the river Lys, in the department of Pas-de-Calais, 10 miles S.E. of St Omer. Although its situation is low and marshy, the town is neat and well built. It possesses extensive barracks; and the Church of St Paul is a handsome Gothic structure. Its manufactures consist of hats, cotton and woollen goods, hardware, yam, soap, and oil. Population, 8803.

AIRE, a town in the south of France, in the department of Landes, on the left bank of the Adour, 14 miles S.S.E. of St Sever. At one time it was the capital of the Visigoths, and since the fifth century it has been the seat of a bishopric. It has a college and cathedral; and there are manufactories of leather and hats. Population, 5144.