owl
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Owl \Owl\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Owled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Owling}.]
1. To pry about; to prowl. [Prov. Eng.]
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2. To carry wool or sheep out of England. [Obs.]
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Note: This was formerly illegal, and was done chiefly by
night.
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3. Hence, to carry on any contraband trade. [Eng.]
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Owl \Owl\ (oul), n. [AS. [=u]le; akin to D. uil, OHG. [=u]wila,
G. eule, Icel. ugla, Sw. ugla, Dan. ugle.]
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1. (Zool.) Any species of raptorial birds of the family
{Strigidae}. They have large eyes and ears, and a
conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye. They are
mostly nocturnal in their habits.
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Note: Some species have erectile tufts of feathers on the
head. The feathers are soft and somewhat downy. The
species are numerous. See {Barn owl}, {Burrowing owl},
{Eared owl}, {Hawk owl}, {Horned owl}, {Screech owl},
{Snowy owl}, under {Barn}, {Burrowing}, etc.
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Note: In the Scriptures the owl is commonly associated with
desolation; poets and story-tellers introduce it as a
bird of ill omen. . . . The Greeks and Romans made it
the emblem of wisdom, and sacred to Minerva, -- and
indeed its large head and solemn eyes give it an air of
wisdom. --Am. Cyc.
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2. (Zool.) A variety of the domestic pigeon.
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{Owl monkey} (Zool.), any one of several species of South
American nocturnal monkeys of the genus {Nyctipithecus}.
They have very large eyes. Called also {durukuli}.
{Owl moth} (Zool.), a very large moth ({Erebus strix}). The
expanse of its wings is over ten inches.
{Owl parrot} (Zool.), the kakapo.
{Sea owl} (Zool.), the lumpfish.
{Owl train}, a cant name for certain railway trains whose run
is in the nighttime.
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from
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Owl
(1.) Heb. bath-haya'anah, "daughter of greediness" or of
"shouting." In the list of unclean birds (Lev. 11:16; Deut.
14:15); also mentioned in Job 30:29; Isa. 13:21; 34:13; 43:20;
Jer. 50:39; Micah 1:8. In all these passages the Revised Version
translates "ostrich" (q.v.), which is the correct rendering.
(2.) Heb. yanshuph, rendered "great owl" in Lev. 11:17; Deut.
14:16, and "owl" in Isa. 34:11. This is supposed to be the
Egyptian eagle-owl (Bubo ascalaphus), which takes the place of
the eagle-owl (Bubo maximus) found in Southern Europe. It is
found frequenting the ruins of Egypt and also of the Holy Land.
"Its cry is a loud, prolonged, and very powerful hoot. I know
nothing which more vividly brought to my mind the sense of
desolation and loneliness than the re-echoing hoot of two or
three of these great owls as I stood at midnight among the
ruined temples of Baalbek" (Tristram).
The LXX. and Vulgate render this word by "ibis", i.e., the
Egyptian heron.
(3.) Heb. kos, rendered "little owl" in Lev. 11:17; Deut.
14:16, and "owl" in Ps. 102:6. The Arabs call this bird "the
mother of ruins." It is by far the most common of all the owls
of Palestine. It is the Athene persica, the bird of Minerva, the
symbol of ancient Athens.
(4.) Heb. kippoz, the "great owl" (Isa. 34:15); Revised
Version, "arrow-snake;" LXX. and Vulgate, "hedgehog," reading in
the text, kippod, instead of kippoz. There is no reason to doubt
the correctness of the rendering of the Authorized Version.
Tristram says: "The word [i.e., kippoz] is very possibly an
imitation of the cry of the scops owl (Scops giu), which is very
common among ruins, caves, and old walls of towns...It is a
migrant, returning to Palestine in spring."
(5.) Heb. lilith, "screech owl" (Isa. 34:14, marg. and R.V.,
"night monster"). The Hebrew word is from a root signifying
"night." Some species of the owl is obviously intended by this
word. It may be the hooting or tawny owl (Syrnium aluco), which
is common in Egypt and in many parts of Palestine. This verse in
Isaiah is "descriptive of utter and perpetual desolation, of a
land that should be full of ruins, and inhabited by the animals
that usually make such ruins their abode."
from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
63 Moby Thesaurus words for "owl":
angry clouds, avifauna, baby bird, bird, bird of Jove,
bird of Juno, bird of Minerva, bird of night, bird of passage,
bird of prey, birdie, birdlife, birdy, black cat, black clouds,
broken mirror, cage bird, chick, cygnet, diving bird, dove, eagle,
eaglet, fish-eating bird, fledgling, flightless bird, fowl,
fruit-eating bird, fulmar, game bird, gathering clouds,
halcyon bird, insect-eating bird, migrant, migratory bird,
nestling, oscine bird, passerine bird, peacock, peafowl, peahen,
perching bird, pigeon, rainbow, ratite, raven, sea bird,
seed-eating bird, shooting star, shore bird, songbird, squab,
storm clouds, storm petrel, stormy petrel, swan, thundercloud,
thunderhead, wading bird, warbler, water bird, waterfowl,
wildfowl
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