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), 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): /aʊl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊl

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.

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
• owl-faced monkey
• owlful
• owlglass
• owling
• owlish
• owl jug
• owl-light
• owl-moth
• owl-swallow
• owl train
• owly
• powerful owl
• rufous owl
• screech owl
• sea-owl
• stuffed owl
• tawny owl

 

Translations

a bird

• Abkhaz: please add this translation if you can
• Acehnese: jampôk
• Adyghe: кукумау (k°k°māw)
• Ainu: チカㇷ゚ (cikap)
• Albanian: kukuvajkë (sq) f, buf (sq) m
• Amharic: ጉጉት (gugut)
• Apache:

  Western Apache: múh

• Arabic: بُومَة‎ f (būma)

  Egyptian Arabic: بومة‎ f (buma)

  North Levantine Arabic: بومة‎ f (boumé)

• 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 (pecôk)
• Borôro: tagogo
• Breton: toud (br) m, kaouenn (br) f
• Bulgarian: кукумя́вка f (kukumjávka)
• Catalan: òliba (ca) f, mussol (ca) m
• Cebuano: ngiwngiw, mingok
• Central Bontoc: koop
• Central Sierra Miwok: huh·umi-
• Chamicuro: ma'sheti
• Chechen: please add this translation if you can
• Cherokee: ᎤᎫᎫ (ugugu)
• Cheyenne: vé'kėséhemėstaa'e
• 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 (zh), 猫头鹰 (zh) (māotóuyīng), 夜貓子 (zh), 夜猫子 (zh) (yèmāozi) (colloquial), 鴞 (zh), 鸮 (zh) (xiāo) (formal), 角鴟, 角鸱 (jiǎochī) (formal), 梟鳥 (zh), 梟鸟 (zh) (xiāoniǎo) (formal), 鵂鶹 (zh), 鸺鹠 (zh) (xiūliú) (formal), 鴟鵂 (zh), 鸱鸺 (zh) (chīxiū) (formal), 鴟鴞 (zh), 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
• Elfdalian: ugel f
• Esperanto: strigo (eo)
• Estonian: öökull, kakk
• Evenki: itiknija (itiknija)
• Faroese: ugla, (rare) ugli m, (rare) úla f
• Fijian: lulu
• Finnish: pöllö (fi)
• 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
• 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)
• Hopi: hotsko
• Hungarian: bagoly (hu)
• Icelandic: ugla (is) f
• Ido: strigo (io)
• Igbo: please add this translation if you can
• Ilocano: kullaaw, puek
• Indonesian: burung hantu (id)
• Interlingua: uluco
• Interlingue: ul
• 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 (darès)

  Roman: darès (jv)

• Kannada: ಗೂಬೆ (kn) (gūbe)
• Kashubian: please add this translation if you can
• Kazakh: жапалақ (japalaq)
• Khmer: ទីទុយ (km) (tiituy), មៀម (km) (miəm)
• Kimaragang: puwok
• Komi-Permyak: сюзь (sjuzʹ)
• Kongo: dikuti
• Korean: 올빼미 (ko) (olppaemi), 부엉이 (ko) (bueong-i)
• Kurdish: kund (ku), bu (ku), pû (ku), pepûk (ku)
• Kyrgyz: please add this translation if you can
• Ladin: ciuita
• Lao: ເຄົ້າ (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)
• 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 (mg), vorondolo (mg)
• Malay: burung hantu, kokok beluk, burung suangi
• Malayalam: മൂങ്ങ (ml) (mūṅṅa)
• Maltese: kokka f
• Manx: hullad f
• Maori: please add this translation if you can
• Marathi: घुबड n (ghubaḍ)
• Mari:

  Western Mari: тымана (təmana)

• Maricopa: mmdii
• 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: oqsarä
• Navajo: néʼéshjaaʼ
• Nepali: लाटोकोसेरो (ne) (lāṭokosero)
• Norman: cahouain m
• Northern Sami: skuolfi, idjaloddi
• 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) (pēcā)
• Ossetian: уыг (wyg), сидахъ (sidaq)
• Pangasinan: kolayot
• Pashto: کونګ‎ (kong)
• Persian: جغد‎ (fa) (joğd), بوف‎ (fa) (buf)
• 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
• 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: skuolfelottit
• Samoan: lulu
• Sanskrit: उलूक (sa) m (ulūka)
• Santali: ᱫᱩᱱᱫᱩ (dundu)
• 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

• 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
• Skolt Sami: hõˊppi
• 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 (fesa)
• Tagal Murut: puvok
• Tagalog: kuwago
• Tamil: ஆந்தை (ta) (āntai)
• Taos: kǫ̏wéna
• Tatar: please add this translation if you can
• Telugu: గుడ్లగూబ (te) (guḍlagūba)
• Thai: นกฮูก (th) (nók hûuk)
• Tibetan: འུག་པ། ('ug pa)
• Turkish: baykuş (tr)
• Turkmen: baýguş (tk)
• Tuvan: please add this translation if you can
• 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
• Yakut: мэкчиргэ (mekçirge)
• Yiddish: סאָווע‎ f (sove)
• Yoruba: òwìwí
• Zazaki: kund
• Zealandic: ulen m
• Zhuang: roeggyaeujmeuz
• Zulu: isikhova (zu) class 7/8

See also

• hoo
• hoot
• to-whit, to-whoo
• whoo

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, low%