Owl
/aʊl/noun
A nocturnal bird of prey with large forward-facing eyes and a hooked beak.
Did you know?The English word owl is ultimately from a very old imitative root, meaning its name likely began as a human-made sound echoing the bird itself rather than a formal descriptive label.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ul-
“An imitative base associated with owl-like or wailing sounds”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*uwwalon / *uƀilon
“An owl or owl-like bird, continuing the old sound-based name”
Old English
English
ūle
“An owl”
Middle English
English
owle
“An owl”
Modern English
English
owl
“A nocturnal bird of prey”