Owl
[aʊl]
Definition
(noun.) nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes.
Typist: Rosa--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) 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.
(n.) A variety of the domestic pigeon.
(v. i.) To pry about; to prowl.
(v. i.) To carry wool or sheep out of England.
(v. i.) Hence, to carry on any contraband trade.
Typed by Barnaby
Definition
n. a carnivorous bird that seeks its food by night noted for its howling or hooting noise.—v.i. to smuggle contraband goods.—ns. Owl′ery an abode of owls: (Carlyle) an owl-like character; Owl′et a little or young owl.—adj. Owl′-eyed having blinking eyes like an owl.—n. Owl′-glass a malicious figure in a popular German tale translated into English about the end of the 16th century—the German Tyll Eulenspiegel—also Owle′glass Howle′glass Owl′spiegle.—adj. Owl′ish like an owl: stupid: dull-looking.—n. Owl′ishness.
Typed by Adele
Unserious Contents or Definition
To hear the solemn, unearthly sound of the muffled voice of the owl, warns dreamers that death creeps closely in the wake of health and joy. Precaution should be taken that life is not ruthlessly exposed to his unyielding grasp. Bad tidings of the absent will surely follow this dream. To see a dead owl, denotes a narrow escape from desperate illness or death. To see an owl, foretells that you will be secretly maligned and be in danger from enemies.
Inputed by Hubert
Examples
- He burst out laughing at himself; for the truth is, he could sing no better than an owl. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- A little owl could stare. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- These two roads intersect nearly a mile west of the crossing of the latter over Owl Creek, where our right rested. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Even in this smoky place, enough to blind one's eyes, the owls can see that. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- Some men, like bats or owls, have better eyes for the darkness than for the light. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- I dreamt another dream, sir: that Thornfield Hall was a dreary ruin, the retreat of bats and owls. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
Checked by Judith