owl

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), 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).

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. (by extension) A person seen as having owl-like characteristics, especially appearing wise or serious, or being nocturnally active.
3. An owl pigeon.
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.

verb

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