Etymology of owl

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗

noun

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.

verb

To smuggle contraband goods.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *uwwô Proto-Germanic *-ulǭ Proto-Germanic *uwwulǭ Proto-West Germanic *uwwulā Old English ūle Middle English oule English owl From Middle English howle, oul, oule, owle, owlle, from Old English ūle, from Proto-West Germanic *uwwulā, from Proto-Germanic *uwwulǭ (“owl”), diminutive of *uwwǭ (“eagle-owl”), of imitative origin or a variant of *ūfaz, *ūfǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *up- (“to cry out”). Cognates Cognate with Scots oul (“owl”), Saterland Frisian Ule (“owl”), West Frisian ûle (“owl”), Cimbrian aul (“owl”), Dutch uil (“owl”), German Eule (“owl”), Low German Uul (“owl”), Luxembourgish Eil (“owl”), Vilamovian aojł (“own”), Yiddish אײַל (ayl, “owl”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ugle (“owl”), Faroese ugla (“owl”), Icelandic uggla, ugla (“owl”), Norwegian Nynorsk ugla, ule (“owl”), Swedish uggla, uv (“owl”); also Bulgarian во́пъл (vópăl, “cry, howl, scream”), въпи́я (văpíja, “to weep, yell”), Czech úpět (“to howl, wail”), Russian вопи́ть (vopítʹ, “to howl, scream, yell”), вопия́ть (vopijátʹ, “to appeal; to scream, yell; to lament, wail”), вопль (voplʹ, “cry, scream, wail”), Serbo-Croatian ва̀пити, vàpiti (“to cry out; to scream”), Slovene vpíti (“to scream, yell”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionhowleenm
Inherited-form mentionūleang
Inherited-form mention*uwwulāgmw-pro
Inherited-form mention*uwwulǭgem-pro · owl
Derivation mention*up-ine-pro · to cry out
Cognate mentionoulsco · owl
Cognate mentionUlestq · owl
Cognate mentionûlefy · owl
Cognate mentionaulcim · owl
Cognate mentionuilnl · owl
Cognate mentionEulede · owl
Cognate mentionUulnds · owl
Cognate mentionEillb · owl
Cognate mentionaojłwym · own
Cognate mentionאײַלyi · owl
Cognate mentionuglafo · owl
Cognate mentionugglais
Cognate mentionuglann
Cognate mentionugglasv
Cognate mentionво́пълbg · cry, howl, scream
Cognate mentionúpětcs · to howl, wail
Cognate mentionвопи́тьru · to howl, scream, yell
Cognate mentionва̀питиsh
Cognate mentionvpítisl · to scream, yell

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:oule",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Germanic *uwwô\nProto-Germanic *-ulǭ\nProto-Germanic *uwwulǭ\nProto-West Germanic *uwwulā\nOld English ūle\nMiddle English oule\nEnglish owl\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*uwwulā\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"ūle\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"oule\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"owl\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"owl\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "howle"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English howle"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ūle"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ūle"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*uwwulā"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *uwwulā"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*uwwulǭ",
        "t": "owl"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *uwwulǭ (“owl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*up-",
        "t": "to cry out"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *up- (“to cry out”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "oul",
        "t": "owl"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots oul (“owl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Ule",
        "t": "owl"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Ule (“owl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "ûle",
        "t": "owl"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian ûle (“owl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cim",
        "2": "aul",
        "t": "owl"
      },
      "expansion": "Cimbrian aul (“owl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "uil",
        "t": "owl"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch uil (“owl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Eule",
        "t": "owl"
      },
      "expansion": "German Eule (“owl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "Uul",
        "t": "owl"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German Uul (“owl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "Eil",
        "t": "owl"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish Eil (“owl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "wym",
        "2": "aojł",
        "t": "own"
      },
      "expansion": "Vilamovian aojł (“own”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yi",
        "2": "אײַל",
        "t": "owl"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish אײַל (ayl, “owl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da,nb",
        "2": "ugle",
        "t": "owl"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ugle (“owl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo",
        "2": "ugla",
        "t": "owl"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese ugla (“owl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "uggla"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic uggla"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "ugla"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk ugla"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "uggla"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish uggla"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "bg",
        "2": "во́пъл",
        "t": "cry, howl, scream"
      },
      "expansion": "Bulgarian во́пъл (vópăl, “cry, howl, scream”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cs",
        "2": "úpět",
        "t": "to howl, wail"
      },
      "expansion": "Czech úpět (“to howl, wail”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ru",
        "2": "вопи́ть",
        "t": "to howl, scream, yell"
      },
      "expansion": "Russian вопи́ть (vopítʹ, “to howl, scream, yell”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sh",
        "2": "ва̀пити"
      },
      "expansion": "Serbo-Croatian ва̀пити"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sl",
        "2": "vpíti",
        "t": "to scream, yell"
      },
      "expansion": "Slovene vpíti (“to scream, yell”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:oule",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Germanic *uwwô\nProto-Germanic *-ulǭ\nProto-Germanic *uwwulǭ\nProto-West Germanic *uwwulā\nOld English ūle\nMiddle English oule\nEnglish owl"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*uwwô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/uwwô"
    ],
    [
      "*-ulǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-ulǭ"
    ],
    [
      "*uwwulǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/uwwulǭ"
    ],
    [
      "*uwwulā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/uwwulā"
    ],
    [
      "ūle",
      "ule#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "oule",
      "oule#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "howle",
      "howle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "oul",
      "oul#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "oule",
      "oule#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "owle",
      "owle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "owlle",
      "owlle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ūle",
      "ule#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*uwwulā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/uwwulā"
    ],
    [
      "*uwwulǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/uwwulǭ"
    ],
    [
      "*uwwǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/uwwǭ"
    ],
    [
      "*ūfaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ūfaz"
    ],
    [
      "*ūfǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ūfǭ"
    ],
    [
      "*up-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/up-"
    ],
    [
      "oul",
      "oul#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "Ule",
      "Ule#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "ûle",
      "ûle#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "aul",
      "aul#Cimbrian"
    ],
    [
      "uil",
      "uil#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Eule",
      "Eule#German"
    ],
    [
      "Uul",
      "Uul#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "Eil",
      "Eil#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "aojł",
      "aojł#Vilamovian"
    ],
    [
      "אײַל",
      "אײַל#Yiddish"
    ],
    [
      "Danish",
      "ugle#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "ugle",
      "ugle#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "ugla",
      "ugla#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "uggla",
      "uggla#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "ugla",
      "ugla#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "ugla",
      "ugla#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "ule",
      "ule#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "uggla",
      "uggla#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "uv",
      "uv#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "во́пъл",
      "вопъл#Bulgarian"
    ],
    [
      "въпи́я",
      "въпия#Bulgarian"
    ],
    [
      "úpět",
      "úpět#Czech"
    ],
    [
      "вопи́ть",
      "вопить#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "вопия́ть",
      "вопиять#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "вопль",
      "вопль#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "ва̀пити",
      "вапити#Serbo-Croatian"
    ],
    [
      "vàpiti",
      "vapiti#Serbo-Croatian"
    ],
    [
      "vpíti",
      "vpiti#Slovene"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "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."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "uncommon"
      ],
      "recordId": "459365a5f3426a87ebdd47787b594a539f3c6218acd4df458bf1a7072bfc6586",
      "rawRecordSha256": "12c6efacd41da78a3cdfebba0b403ad056deb89efd792106c439e440628effc6",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 37136
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To smuggle contraband goods."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "e7e1326a59d7791f728e3bfeab34f7b2e71e825b9f2500df5179db0e1459c977",
      "rawRecordSha256": "42db95e80256ac7d7bfe5ceadeb60b0a8019ddc6f53a9ef874406c07f7e243f6",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 37137
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 1,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

The source etymologies

Unnumbered source etymology

Relationships mentioned by the source

Where this record stops

Source and snapshot