Owlet
/ˈaʊ.lɪt/noun
A small owl, or a young owl.
Did you know?Owlet is just the English owl plus the diminutive suffix -et, but its root goes all the way back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂ol- / *ul- for the owl, a bird long linked across cultures with night, omen, and hidden sight.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂ol- / *ul-
“An ancient root for owl-like night birds”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*uwwalō / *ūwô
“Owl”
Old English
OE
ūle
“Owl”
Middle English
ME
owle
“Owl”
15th Century
English
owlet
“A small owl; a young owl”
Modern English
English
owlet
“A small owl, or a young owl”