(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. 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. 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.
2.
(Zool.) A variety of the domestic pigeon.
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.
verb
Owl v. i. (past & past part. owled; pres. part. 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.
... think that she has any wish to strain an argument with a view to "bolstering up her own art and ritual theory." It can, indeed, be no matter for surprise that such suspicions should be aroused. When, for instance, an educated man hears that the Israelites worshipped a golden calf, or that the owl and the peacock were respectively sacred to Juno and Minerva, he can readily understand what is meant. But when he is told that an Australian Emu man, strutting about in the feathers of that bird, does ... — Political and Literary essays, 1908-1913 • Evelyn Baring Read full book for free!
... as melancholy as an owl of late,' retorted Mab, caressing the old lady; 'ever since the arrest of that man Mosk she has ... — The Bishop's Secret • Fergus Hume Read full book for free!
... protested Nancy, in whom Judith confided. "She's just busy with the play—you know she's to be the heroine—and she's writing on her diploma examination too. Cheer up, Judy, don't look so like an owl." ... — Judy of York Hill • Ethel Hume Patterson Bennett Read full book for free!
... still a hawk in spirit, was proved on an occasion of almost equal interest. A neighbour had sent us a very fine specimen of the smaller horned owl (Strix brachyotus,) which he had winged when flying in the midst of a covey of partridges; and after having tended the wounded limb, and endeavoured to make a cure, we thought of soothing the prisoner's captivity by a larger degree of freedom than he had in the hen-coop which ... — The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction - Vol. XVII. No. 473., Saturday, January 29, 1831 • Various Read full book for free!
... breathing the cool air, and remarking the evening tints of the mountains. Neither the paintings of Count this, nor the antiquities of the Marquis t'other, could tempt me from my aerial situation; I refused hunting out the famous Paolos scattered over the town, and sat like the owl in the Georgics, ... — Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents • William Beckford Read full book for free!
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