owl English · revision 15340

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited, onomatopoeia|attested=c. 725}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /aʊl/, /aʊəl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|oule]], [[inh|ang|ūle|t=owl]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*uwwalōn]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with [[dum|ūle]], [[nl|uil]], [[goh|ūwila]] (modern [[m|de|Eule]]) and [[non|ugla]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) all from a word imitating the bird's call,^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998)^(Cresswell 2021) compare [[howl]] and [[la|ulula|t=owl]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The nocturnal bird of prey: about 725 in the OED, before 800 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==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.^(Etymonline) 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,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) hence ''to bring owls to Athens'', to do needless work.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Applied to a person for nocturnal habits it is from 1413,^(OED 1989) and a night owl is from the late 16th century.^(Cresswell 2021) The verb, to smuggle by night, is from the 1540s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – ūle.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1390 – owls to Athens (proverb).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1413 – a person with nocturnal habits.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1540s – to owl, smuggle by night.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1918 – Brown Owl (Brownies).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[nocturnal]] [[bird of prey]] with large forward-facing eyes, a hooked beak and soft feathers allowing silent flight.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person who looks or acts like an owl, as by seeming wise or staying up at night.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+ # A breed of fancy pigeon with an owl-like head.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[owllike]]

+ * [[owlet]]

+ * [[owlish]]

+ * [[barn owl]]

+ * [[elf owl]]

+ * [[great horned owl]]

+ * [[saw-whet owl]]

+ * [[little owl]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[howl]]

+ * [[ululate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}