Owl

Pronunciation

• IPA: /aÊŠl/
• US also IPA: /ˈaÊŠÉ™l/
• Rhymes: -aÊŠl, -aÊŠÉ™l

From Middle English owle, from Old English ūle, from Proto-Germanic *uwwalǭ (compare West Frisian ûle, Dutch uil, Danish ugle, German Eule), diminutive of *uwwōn ‘eagle-owl’ (compare German Uhu), of imitative origin or a variant of *ūfaz, *ūfōn (compare Swedish uv ‘horned owl’, Bavarian Auf),

Marlies Philippa et al, eds., Etymologisch Woordenboek van het Nederlands, A-Z, s.v. “uil” (Amsterdam UP, 3 Dec. 2009):

.

from Proto-Indo-European *up- (compare Latvian ũpis ‘eagle-owl’, Czech úpěti ‘to wail, howl’, Avestan ufyeimi ‘to call out’)

Rick Derksen, Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, s.vv. “vъpìti”, “vypь” (Leiden: Brill, 1998), pp. 532:535.

.

Vladimir Orel, A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, s.vv. “*uwwalōn”, “*uwwōn”, “*ūfaz ~ *ūfōn” (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 436.

Full definition of owl

Noun

1. 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.
2. A person seen as having owl-like characteristics, especially appearing wise or serious, or being nocturnally active.

Derived terms

Noun

1. A variety of the domestic pigeon.

Anagrams

• low