owl
Plural: owls
Noun
- A nocturnal bird of prey known for its wise appearance.
- nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes
- Any of various birds of prey of the order Strigiformes, families Strigidae and Tytonidae, that are primarily nocturnal and have forward-looking, binocular vision, limited eye movement, and good hearing.
- A person seen as having owl-like characteristics, especially appearing wise or serious, or being nocturnally active.
- An owl pigeon.
- A politician with moderate views that are neither hawkish nor dovish.
- Any of various nymphalid butterflies, especially in the genus Caligo, having large eyespots on the wings.
Verb
- To smuggle contraband goods.
Examples
- He felt like an OWL, quietly observing the board for the perfect play.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English oule, owle, from Old English ūle, from Proto-West Germanic *uwwilā, 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).
Synonyms
bird of Minerva, bird of night, hooter
Antonyms
Scrabble Score: 6
owl: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordowl: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
owl: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary