# owl

Pronunciation: say "OWL" /aʊ(ə)l/

## Noun

1. Any of various mostly nocturnal birds of prey of the order Strigiformes, with forward-facing binocular vision, limited eye movement, and acute hearing.
   - Simple: A bird that hunts at night and has big eyes that face forward and very good hearing.
   - _An owl's eyes barely move in their sockets, so it turns its head to follow its prey._
   - _Owls swallow small prey whole and later cough up pellets of bone and fur._
2. A person regarded as having owl-like qualities, especially in seeming wise or serious, or in being active late at night.
   - Simple: A person who seems wise or serious, or who likes to stay up late at night.
   - _My roommate is a true owl, doing her best work long after midnight._
   - _The judge, a solemn old owl, peered over her glasses before delivering the ruling._

## Noun

3. A politician who holds moderate views, positioned between the hawkish and dovish camps. *(rare)*
   - Simple: A politician who takes a middle path between those who want to fight and those who want peace.

## Verb

4. To engage in smuggling contraband goods. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To secretly carry goods across a border when the law does not allow it.

## Other meanings

- (noun) Any of various butterflies of the family Nymphalidae, especially in the genus Caligo, having large eyespots on the wings.
- (noun) A pigeon of any of several fancy breeds known as owls, having a very short beak and a frill of feathers on the breast.

## Origin

"Owl" comes from Middle English "oule," from Old English "ūle," going back to Proto-Germanic and possibly ultimately a Proto-Indo-European root. It is a diminutive of a word for "eagle-owl" (compare German "Uhu") that was probably of imitative origin, echoing the bird's call, with cognates like Dutch "uil" and German "Eule."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/owl (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).