Wiktionary

owl

See also: OWL, and Owl

English

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A northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina)

Etymology

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From Middle English oule, owle, from Old English ūle, from Proto-West Germanic *uwwilā, from Proto-Germanic *uwwalǭ (compare West Frisian ûle, Dutch uil, Danish and Norwegian ugle, German Eule), diminutive of *uwwǭ (“eagle-owl”) (compare German Uhu), of imitative origin or a variant of *ūfaz, *ūfǭ (compare Old English ūf or hūf, Swedish uv (“horned owl”), Bavarian Auf),[1] from Proto-Indo-European *up- (compare Latvian ũpis (“eagle-owl”), Czech úpět (“to wail, howl”), Avestan 𐬎𐬟𐬌𐬌𐬈𐬌𐬨𐬌 (ufiieimi, “to call out”).[2][3] A Germanic variant *uwwilǭ was the source of Old High German ūwila (German Eule).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /aʊ(ə)l/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -aʊl, -aʊəl

Noun

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owl (plural owls)

  2. Any of various birds of prey of the order Strigiformes that are primarily nocturnal and have forward-looking, binocular vision, limited eye movement, and good hearing. [from 8th c.]
  3. (by extension) A person seen as having owl-like characteristics, especially appearing wise or serious, or being nocturnally active. [from 14th c.]
    Antonym: lark
  4. An owl pigeon. [from 18th c.]
  5. (politics, uncommon) A politician with moderate views that are neither hawkish nor dovish.
  6. Any of various nymphalid butterflies, especially in the genus Caligo, having large eyespots on the wings.

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Marlies Philippa et al, eds., Etymologisch Woordenboek van het Nederlands, A-Z, s.v. “uil” (Amsterdam UP, 3 Dec. 2009). [1]
  2. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008) “*vъpiti”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 532
  3. ^ Vladimir Orel, A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, s.vv. “*uwwalōn”, “*uwwǭ”, “*ūfaz ~ *ūfǭ” (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 436.

Further reading

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Verb

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owl (third-person singular simple present owls, present participle owling, simple past and past participle owled)

  1. (archaic, intransitive) To smuggle contraband goods.

Anagrams

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