owl

== Translingual == === Etymology === Abbreviation of English Old Welsh. === Symbol === owl (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Old Welsh. === See also === Wiktionary’s coverage of Old Welsh terms == English == === Etymology === 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), from Proto-Indo-European *up- (compare Latvian ũpis (“eagle-owl”), Czech úpět (“to wail, howl”), Avestan 𐬎𐬟𐬌𐬌𐬈𐬌𐬨𐬌 (ufiieimi, “to call out”). A Germanic variant *uwwilǭ was the source of Old High German ūwila (German Eule). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /aʊ(ə)l/ Rhymes: -aʊl, -aʊəl === Noun === owl (plural owls) 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. [from 8th c.] (by extension) A person seen as having owl-like characteristics, especially appearing wise or serious, or being nocturnally active. [from 14th c.] Antonym: lark An owl pigeon. [from 18th c.] (politics, uncommon) A politician with moderate views that are neither hawkish nor dovish. Any of various nymphalid butterflies, especially in the genus Caligo, having large eyespots on the wings. ==== Coordinate terms ==== ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== hoot to-whit, to-whoo whoo who hoo hoohoo ==== References ==== ==== Further reading ==== owl on Wikipedia.Wikipedia === Verb === owl (third-person singular simple present owls, present participle owling, simple past and past participle owled) (archaic, intransitive) To smuggle contraband goods. === Anagrams === 'low, LOW, Low, WoL, low, low%