owl meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

owl

nounalso spelled Owl

/aʊ(ə)l/

Etymology

From Middle English howle, oul, oule, owle, owlle, from Old English ūle, from Proto-West Germanic *uwwulā, from Proto-Germanic *uwwulǭ (“owl”), diminutive of *uwwǭ (“eagle-owl”), of imitative origin or a variant of *ūfaz, *ūfǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *up- (“to cry out”). Cognates Cognate with Scots oul (“owl”), Saterland Frisian Ule (“owl”), West Frisian ûle (“owl”), Cimbrian aul (“owl”), Dutch uil (“owl”), German Eule (“owl”), Low German Uul (“owl”), Luxembourgish Eil (“owl”), Vilamovian aojł (“own”), Yiddish אײַל (ayl, “owl”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ugle (“owl”), Faroese ugla (“owl”), Icelandic uggla, ugla (“owl”), Norwegian Nynorsk ugla, ule (“owl”), Swedish uggla, uv (“owl”); also Bulgarian вопъл (vopǎl, “cry, howl, scream”), въпия (vǎpija, “to weep, yell”), Czech úpět (“to howl, wail”), Russian вопи́ть (vopítʹ, “to howl, scream, yell”), вопия́ть (vopijátʹ, “to appeal; to scream, yell; to lament, wail”), вопль (voplʹ, “cry, scream, wail”), Serbo-Croatian ва̀пити, vàpiti (“to cry out; to scream”), Slovene vpíti (“to scream, yell”).

1

Any of various birds of prey of the order Strigiformes, families Strigidae and Tytonidae, that are primarily nocturnal and have forward-looking, binocular vision, limited eye movement, and good hearing.

A group of owls is called a parliament.2019 June 6, “A gaggle, a confusion and a conspiracy - bizarre animal collective group names”, in BBC:

2

Broadly A person seen as having owl-like characteristics, especially appearing wise or serious, or being nocturnally active.

3

An owl pigeon.

4

Government, Politics Uncommon A politician with moderate views that are neither hawkish nor dovish.

5

Any of various nymphalid butterflies, especially in the genus Caligo, having large eyespots on the wings.

Derived terms: 122 terms
Acadian owl, as wise as an owl, bare-legged owl, barn owl, barred owl, bay owl, blind as an owl, boobook owl, boreal owl, brown owl, buffy fish owl, burrowing owl, burrow owl, Cosmic Owl, disc owl, disk owl, drunk as a boiled owl, drunk as an owl, eagle owl, eagle-owl, elf owl, Eurasian eagle owl, Eurasian pygmy owl, Eurasian scops owl, fernowl, fishing owl, fish owl, flammulated owl, gnome owl, great grey owl, great horned owl, hawk owl, hawk-owl, hoot owl, hoot owl shift, hoot owl trail, horned owl, hornowl, ivy owl, jar-owl, Lapland owl, laughing owl, little owl, long eared owl, long-eared owl, monkey-faced owl, mottled owl, night owl, night-owl, northern hawk owl, owlbear, owl bus, owl-butterfly, owl butterfly, owl clover, owldom, owler, owlery, owlet, owl-eyed, owl-faced monkey, owlfish, owlfly, owlful, Owlglass, owl hoot, owl hoot trail, owling, owlish, owlishly, owlishness, owlism, owl jug, owlless, owl-light, owl light, owllike, owl-like, owl monkey, owl moth, owl-moth, owl parrot, owl pigeon, Owls Head, owl-swallow, owl train, owly, Pel's fishing owl, powerful owl, pygmy owl, rain owl, red owl, Richardson's owl, rufous owl, saw-whet owl, scops owl, scops-owl, screech owl, screech-owl, sea owl, sea-owl, shivering owl, short-eared owl, shriek owl, silver owl, snowy owl, Soumagne's owl, spectral owl, spotted eagle-owl, spotted owl, squinch owl, striped owl, stuffed owl, superb owl, tawny owl, Tengmalm's owl, Ural owl, wereowl, western barn owl, white owl, wise as an owl, wood owl
Related terms: hoot, to-whit, to-whoo, whoo, who, hoo, hoohoo
Coordinate terms: parliament

owl

verb

Etymology

From Middle English howle, oul, oule, owle, owlle, from Old English ūle, from Proto-West Germanic *uwwulā, from Proto-Germanic *uwwulǭ (“owl”), diminutive of *uwwǭ (“eagle-owl”), of imitative origin or a variant of *ūfaz, *ūfǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *up- (“to cry out”). Cognates Cognate with Scots oul (“owl”), Saterland Frisian Ule (“owl”), West Frisian ûle (“owl”), Cimbrian aul (“owl”), Dutch uil (“owl”), German Eule (“owl”), Low German Uul (“owl”), Luxembourgish Eil (“owl”), Vilamovian aojł (“own”), Yiddish אײַל (ayl, “owl”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ugle (“owl”), Faroese ugla (“owl”), Icelandic uggla, ugla (“owl”), Norwegian Nynorsk ugla, ule (“owl”), Swedish uggla, uv (“owl”); also Bulgarian вопъл (vopǎl, “cry, howl, scream”), въпия (vǎpija, “to weep, yell”), Czech úpět (“to howl, wail”), Russian вопи́ть (vopítʹ, “to howl, scream, yell”), вопия́ть (vopijátʹ, “to appeal; to scream, yell; to lament, wail”), вопль (voplʹ, “cry, scream, wail”), Serbo-Croatian ва̀пити, vàpiti (“to cry out; to scream”), Slovene vpíti (“to scream, yell”).

1

Archaic To smuggle contraband goods.

Owl

noun

Etymology Named from the Owlerton stadium where they used to play.

1

Ball games, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Soccer, Sports Slang A player or fan of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.