Category:Owl

Owl, n. Etym: [as. ; akin to d. uil, ohg. , g. eule, icel. ugla, sw. Ugla, dan. ugle.]

1. (zoöl.)

Defn: any cpecies of raptorial birds of the family strigidæ. They Have large eyes and ears, and a conspicuous circle of feathers around Each eye. They are mostly nocturnal in their habits.

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 barnburrowing, etc.

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.

2. (zoöl.)

Defn: a variety of the domestic pigeon. Owl monkey (zoöl.), any one Of several species of south american nocturnal monkeys of the genus Nyctipithecus. They have very large eyes. Called also durukuli. -- owl moth ( (zoöl.), a very large moth (erebus strix). The expanse Of its wings is over ten inches. -- owl parrot (zoöl.), the kakapo. -- sea owl (zoöl.), the lumpfish. -- owl train, a cant name for certain railway trains whose run is in The nighttime.

Owl Owl, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Owled; p. pr. & vb. n. Owling.]

1. To pry about; to prowl. [prov. Eng.]

2. To carry wool or sheep out of england. [obs.]

Note: this was formerly illegal, and was done chiefly by night.

3. Hence, to carry on any contraband trade. [eng.]

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---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Owl - (1.) Heb. bath-haya'anah, "daughter of greediness" or of "shouting." In the list of unclean birds (Leviticus 11:16; Deuteronomy 14:15); also mentioned in Job 30:29; Isaiah 13:21; Isaiah 34:13; Isaiah 43:20; Jeremiah 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 Leviticus 11:17; Deuteronomy 14:16, and "owl" in Isaiah 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 Leviticus 11:17; Deuteronomy 14:16, and "owl" in Psalms 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" (Isaiah 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" (Isaiah 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."