owl

owl

See also: OWL

English

A northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina)

Etymology

From Middle English oule, owle, from Old English ūle, 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

• IPA^(key): /aʊl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊl, -aʊəl

Noun

owl (plural owls)

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. [from 8th c.]
2. (by extension) A person seen as having owl-like characteristics, especially appearing wise or serious, or being nocturnally active. [from 14th c.]

   Antonym: lark

3. The owl pigeon. [from 18th c.]
4. (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

• as wise as an owl
• barn owl
• eagle owl
• elf owl
• great horned owl
• little owl
• long eared owl
• night owl
• owl bus
• owl-butterfly
• owler
• owlery
• owlet
• owl-eyed
• owl-faced monkey
• owlful
• Owlglass
• owl hoot
• owl hoot trail
• owling
• owlish
• owlishly
• owlishness
• owl jug
• owlless
• owl-light
• owl-like
• owl-moth
• owl parrot
• owl pigeon
• owl-swallow
• owl train
• owly
• powerful owl
• rufous owl
• scops owl
• screech owl
• sea-owl
• stuffed owl
• tawny owl

 

Translations

bird

Abkhaz: please add this translation if you can Acehnese: jampôk Adyghe: кукумау (kʷukʷumaawu) Afrikaans: uil Ainu: チカㇷ゚ (cikap) Albanian: kukuvajkë (sq) f, buf (sq) m, hut (sq) m Amharic: ጉጉት (gugut) Apache: Western Apache: múh Arabic: بُومَة‎ f (būma) Egyptian Arabic: بومة‎ f (būma), قويق‎ m (ʔuwēʔ) Hijazi Arabic: بومة‎ f (būma) North Levantine Arabic: بومة‎ f (būme) Aragonese: bobón m, baueso m, craberet m Armenian: բու (hy) (bu) Assamese: ফেঁচা (phẽsa) Asturian: curuxa (ast) f Aymara: juku (ay) Azerbaijani: bayquş (az) Banjarese: kukulai Bashkir: ябалаҡ (yabalaq) Basque: mozo, hontz (eu), gauhontz, hontza Bau Bidayuh: buwo Belarusian: сава́ f (savá) Bengali: পেঁচা (bn) (pẽca), উলূক (ulūk), পেচক (pecôkô) Bhojpuri: कुचकुचवा (kucᵊkucᵊvā), उरुआ (uruā) Borôro: tagogo Bouyei: rogyahheh, rogjaucmyaus Breton: toud (br) m, kaouenn (br) f Brunei Malay: burung antu Bulgarian: птица от разред сови (ptica ot razred sovi) (little owl - кукумявка) Burmese: please add this translation if you can Catalan: òliba (ca) f, mussol (ca) m Cebuano: ngiwngiw, mingok Central Bontoc: koop Central Sierra Miwok: huh·umi- Chakma: please add this translation if you can Chamicuro: ma'sheti Chechen: бухӏа (buha) Cherokee: ᎤᎫᎫ (ugugu) Cheyenne: vé'kėséhemėstaa'e Chickasaw: oopa Chinese: Cantonese: 貓頭鷹, 猫头鹰 (maau1 tau4 jing1), 鴞, 鸮 (hiu1) (formal), 鴟鴞, 鸱鸮 (ci1 hiu1) (formal) Hakka: 貓頭鳥, 猫头鸟 (meu-thèu-tiâu) Mandarin: 貓頭鷹／猫头鹰 (zh) (māotóuyīng), 夜貓子／夜猫子 (zh) (yèmāozi) (colloquial), 鴞／鸮 (zh) (xiāo) (formal), 角鴟／角鸱 (zh) (jiǎochī) (formal), 梟鳥／枭鸟 (zh), 梟鸟／枭鸟 (zh) (xiāoniǎo) (formal), 鵂鶹／鸺鹠 (zh) (xiūliú) (formal), 鴟鵂／鸱鸺 (zh) (chīxiū) (formal), 鴟鴞／鸱鸮 (zh) (chīxiāo) (formal) Min Dong: 貓王鳥, 猫王鸟 (mà-uòng-cēu) Min Nan: 暗光鳥 (zh-min-nan), 暗光鸟 (zh-min-nan) (àm-kong-chiáu), 貓頭鳥 (zh-min-nan), 猫头鸟 (niau-thâu-chiáu), 貓頭鷹 (zh-min-nan), 猫头鹰 (niau-thâu-eng), 鴣黃, 鸪黄 (ko͘-n̂g, ko͘-ûiⁿ), 暗晏鳥, 暗晏鸟 (àm-òaⁿ-chiáu), 鴟鴞 (zh-min-nan), 鸱鸮 (chhi-hiau), 鷦鶹, 鹪鹠 (chiau-liû), 鵂鶹 (zh-min-nan), 鸺鹠 (hiu-liû), 公黃, 公黄 (kong-hûiⁿ), 姑嫂鳥, 姑嫂鸟 (ko͘-só-chiáu), 貓頭姑, 猫头姑 (niau-thâu-ko͘) Chukchi: тыӄыԓ (tyqyḷ) Chuvash: тӑмана (tămana) Classical Syriac: ܒܘܡܐ‎ c (būmā) Comanche: mupitsʉ Cornish: cowan f Corsican: ciocciu m Crimean Tatar: kökökmiyav, muratquş Czech: sova (cs) f Dalmatian: civet m Danish: ugle (da) c Dutch: uil (nl) m Dzongkha: འུག་པ ('ug pa) Elfdalian: ugel f Esperanto: strigo (eo) Estonian: öökull (et), kakk Evenki: itiknija (itiknija) Faroese: ugla, (rare) ugli m, (rare) úla f Fijian: lulu Finnish: pöllö (fi); pöllölintu (fi) (zoology) Franco-Provençal: please add this translation if you can French: hibou (fr) m, chouette (fr) f Friulian: çus Galician: moucho (gl) m Georgian: ბუ (bu) German: Eule (de) f, Uhu (de) m, Eulenvogel m (order Strigiformes) Old High German: ūwila f Greek: κουκουβάγια (el) f (koukouvágia) Ancient: γλαῦξ f (glaûx) Greenlandic: uppik Guaraní: ñakurutû, urukure'a, suinda Gujarati: please add this translation if you can Haitian Creole: koukou Hausa: mujiya Hawaiian: pueo Hebrew: ינשוף‎ (he) (yanshuf), תנשמת‎ (he) (tinshemeth), לילית‎ (he) (lilith), אוח‎ (he) (oakh) Hiligaynon: búkaw Hindi: उल्लू (hi) m (ullū), पेचक (hi) m (pecak), उलूक (hi) m (ulūk), कुचकुचवा (hi) m (kuckucvā), खुसट (hi) m (khusaṭ), घूक (hi) m (ghūk), घूघू (hi) m (ghūghū), घुघ्घू (hi) m (ghughghū), घुग्घू (hi) m (ghugghū) Hopi: hotsko Hungarian: bagoly (hu) Ibanag: lappang Icelandic: ugla (is) f Ido: strigo (io) Igbo: please add this translation if you can Ilocano: kullaaw, puek Indonesian: burung hantu (id), burung suangi (id), celepuk (id), jampuk (id), kokok beluk (id), pungguk (id) Ingush: бов (bow) Interlingua: uluco Irish: ulchabhán (ga) m, cailleach oíche f Italian: gufo (it) m (big), civetta (it) f (small) Ivatan: bantuluk Japanese: フクロウ (ja) (fukurō), 梟 (ja) (ふくろう, fukurō) Javanese: Carakan: ꦢꦫꦺꦱ꧀ (darés) Roman: darès (jv) Kannada: ಗೂಬೆ (kn) (gūbe), ಘೂಕ (kn) (ghūka) Kapampangan: kulayu Kashubian: please add this translation if you can Kazakh: жапалақ (japalaq) Khmer: ទីទុយ (km) (tiituy), មៀម (km) (miəm) Kimaragang: puwok Komi-Permyak: сюзь (sʹuzʹ) Kongo: dikuti Korean: 올빼미 (ko) (olppaemi), 부엉이 (ko) (bueong'i) Kumyk: обуркъуш (oburquş), обуръябалакъ (oburyabalaq) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: کوند‎ (kund) Northern Kurdish: kund (ku), bu (ku), pû (ku), pepûk (ku) Kyrgyz: үкү (ky) (ükü) Ladin: ciuita Lao: ເຄົ້າ (lo) (khao) Latgalian: palāda, (some species) opūgs m Latin: būbō m, noctua f, strix (la) f, ulula f (screech owl), parra f (barn owl) Latvian: pūce, apogs (some species), ūpis m (eagle-owl) Limburgish: uul (li) m Lingala: esulúngútu Lithuanian: pelėda (lt) f; also apuokas (lt) m (some species) Livonian: būs Low German: Dutch Low Saxon: uul f German Low German: Uul (nds) f Lun Bawang: fuek Luxembourgish: Eil (lb) f, Échel (lb) f Macedonian: був (buv), ут m (ut), утка f (utka) Malagasy: vorombozaka, vorondolo (mg) Malay: burung hantu (ms), burung suangi, pungguk Malayalam: മൂങ്ങ (ml) (mūṅṅa) Maltese: kokka f Manx: hullad f Maori: please add this translation if you can Marathi: घुबड n (ghubaḍ) Mari: Eastern Mari: тумна (tumna) Western Mari: тымана (tymana) Maricopa: mmdii Mauritian Creole: ibou Mazanderani: کوربی‎ (kurebi), پیت کتله‎ (pitketele) Mi'kmaq: gu'gu'gwes anim Mirandese: queruja f Moksha: корож (korož) Mongolian: шар шувуу (šar šuvuu), ууль (mn) (uulʹ) Montagnais: uhu Nanai: оксаран Nanticoke: quoo-waant Navajo: néʼéshjaaʼ Nepali: लाटोकोसेरो (ne) (lāṭokosero), उल्लू (ne) (ullū), उल्लु (ne) (ullu), उलूक (ne) (ulūk) Norman: cahouain m Northern Sotho: leribiši Norwegian: Bokmål: ugle m or f Nynorsk: ugle f O'odham: cukut Occitan: chòta f Ojibwe: gookooko'oo Old English: ūle f Old Norse: ugla Old Occitan: cavec m Oriya: ପେଚା (or) (peca) Oromo: uruungguu Ossetian: уыг (wyg), сидахъ (sidaq) Pangasinan: kolayot Pashto: کونګ‎ (kong) Persian: جغد‎ (fa) (joğd), بوف‎ (fa) (buf) Plautdietsch: Ul f Polish: sowa (pl) f Portuguese: coruja (pt) f, estrige f Punjabi: please add this translation if you can Quechua: tuku, paqpaka, ch'usiqa, huku, juku Rohingya: feñsa Romanian: bufniță (ro) f Romansch: tschuetta f Russian: сова́ (ru) f (sová), фи́лин (ru) m (fílin), сыч (ru) m (syč) Rusyn: совы f (sovŷ) Sami: Northern Sami: skuolfi, idjaloddi Inari Sami: skyelfi, oppuu Skolt Sami: hõˊppi Samoan: lulu Sanskrit: उलूक (sa) m (ulūka), पेचक (sa) m (pecaka), घूक (sa) m (ghūka) Santali: ᱫᱩᱱᱫᱩ (dundu), ᱠᱚᱠᱚᱨ (kôkôr) Sardinian: tirulia, cuccumeu, cuccumiau Saterland Frisian: Uule f Scots: yuggle Scottish Gaelic: cailleach-oidhche f, comhachag f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: сова f, јеја f, јејина f, буљина f Roman: sova (sh) f, jeja (sh) f, jejina (sh) f, buljina (sh) f Sherpa: འུག་པ ('ug pa) Shona: zizi Sicilian: cuccu (scn) m (big, Bubo bubo), cucca (scn) f (small, Athene noctua) Silesian: uojle f Sinhalese: please add this translation if you can Slovak: sova (sk) f, výr m Slovene: sova (sl) f Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: sowa f Upper Sorbian: sowa f Spanish: búho (es) m, lechuza (es) f, tecolote (es) m (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras), mochuelo (es) m (Spain), autillo m (Spain), cárabo (es) m (Spain), cuco (es) m (Cuba), sijú cotunto m (Cuba), caburé (es) m (Argentina), chuncho (es) m (Argentina, Chile), anteojo (es) m (Peru), tucúquere (es) m (Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile) Sundanese: bueuk (su) Swahili: bundi (sw) Swedish: uggla (sv) c, uv (sv) c Sylheti: ꠚꠦꠌꠣ (fésa), ꠙꠦꠌꠣ (fesa) Tagal Murut: puvok Tagalog: kuwago Tajik: ҷуғз (tg) (juġz), бум (tg) (bum) Tamil: ஆந்தை (ta) (āntai), கூகை (ta) (kūkai) Taos: kǫ̏wéna Tatar: ябалак (tt) (yabalaq), байгыш (tt) (baygış) Telugu: గుడ్లగూబ (te) (guḍlagūba), గూబ (te) (gūba) Thai: นกฮูก (th) (nók hûuk) Tibetan: འུག་པ། ('ug pa) Tigrinya: ጉንጓ (gungʷa) Tocharian B: uluke Tok Pisin: pugu Turkish: baykuş (tr) Turkmen: baýguş (tk) Tuvan: please add this translation if you can Udi: гуъгеъл (gu̱ge̱l) Ukrainian: сова (uk) f (sova), сич m (syč) Urdu: الو‎ m (ullū) Uyghur: مۈشۈك ياپىلاق‎ (müshük yapilaq), ھۇۋقۇش‎ (huwqush) Uzbek: boyqush (uz), boyo'g'li (uz), yapaloqqush (uz) Veps: hir'pulo Vietnamese: cú (vi) Vilamovian: aojł f Volapük: lül (vo) Walloon: houprale (wa) f Waray-Waray: bukaw Welsh: tylluan (cy) f, gwdihŵ (cy) f, gwdihŵaid f pl West Coast Bajau: puok West Frisian: ûle Wolof: looy mi (wo) Yakut: мэкчиргэ (mekçirge) Yiddish: סאָווע‎ f (sove) Yoruba: òwìwí Yámana: sírra Zazaki: kund (diq) Zealandic: ulen m Zhuang: roeggyaeujmeuz Zulu: isikhova (zu) class 7/8

person with owl-like characteristics

owl pigeon — see owl pigeon

politician with moderate views

type of nymphalid butterfly

See also

• hoot
• to-whit, to-whoo
• whoo

References

1. Marlies Philippa et al, eds., Etymologisch Woordenboek van het Nederlands, A-Z, s.v. “uil” (Amsterdam UP, 3 Dec. 2009).
2. Derksen, Rick (2008) Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 532—535
3. Vladimir Orel, A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, s.vv. “*uwwalōn”, “*uwwǭ”, “*ūfaz ~ *ūfǭ” (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 436.

Further reading

• owl on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Verb

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

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

Anagrams

• 'low, LOW, Low, WoL, low, low%