owl

Pronunciation

• IPA: /aʊl/, /aʊəl/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English oule, inherited from Old English ūle (“owl”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *uwwalōn,^[3][4] cognate with Middle Dutch ūle, Dutch uil, Old High German ūwila (modern Eule) and Old Norse ugla,^[2][3][4] all from a word imitating the bird's call,^[2][5][6] compare howl and Latin ulula (“owl”).^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The nocturnal bird of prey: about 725 in the OED, before 800 in Barnhart.^[7][2]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the owl stood for ugliness (late 14th century), spiritual blindness (about 1400) and malice (mid-15th century), and was a name for Satan in the early 15th century.^[3] The link with gravity and wisdom came later, after the revival of classical learning: an owl was the emblem of Athens and its goddess Athene,^[3][6] hence to bring owls to Athens, to do needless work.^[3][7] Applied to a person for nocturnal habits it is from 1413,^[7] and a night owl is from the late 16th century.^[6] The verb, to smuggle by night, is from the 1540s.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 725 – ūle.^[7]
• 1390 – owls to Athens (proverb).^[7]
• 1413 – a person with nocturnal habits.^[7]
• 1540s – to owl, smuggle by night.^[3]
• 1918 – Brown Owl (Brownies).^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A nocturnal bird of prey with large forward-facing eyes, a hooked beak and soft feathers allowing silent flight.
2. A person who looks or acts like an owl, as by seeming wise or staying up at night.
3. A breed of fancy pigeon with an owl-like head.

Word family

• owllike
• owlet
• owlish
• barn owl
• elf owl
• great horned owl
• saw-whet owl
• little owl

Related words

• howl
• ululate

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press