owl

1. any nocturnal bird of prey of the order Strigiformes, having large front-facing eyes, a small hooked bill, soft feathers, and a short neck

2. any of various breeds of owl-like fancy domestic pigeon (esp the African owl, Chinese owl, and English owl)

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

owl

Any of various nocturnal birds of prey, with hooked and feathered talons, large heads with short hooked beaks, and eyes set in a frontal facial plane.

Owl

(religion, spiritualism, and occult)

The Greeks looked upon the owl as a sacred symbol of wisdom. Athena, the goddess of wisdom, was always accompanied by an owl. Many old Greek vases are decorated with owls, some of which have breasts and even vulvas. In Rome, however, the hooting of owls or the sight of one was said to presage a death, and it was considered bad luck to dream of an owl.

Athena, Anath, Blodeuwedd, Lilith, Mari, and Minerva are associated with owls. From the Neolithic Age through to the Early Bronze Age, a prominent image in art is the goddess in the form of an owl. The Latin for owl is strix, from which comes the Italian strega, meaning "witch."

Owls were frequently depicted, during the persecutions, as companions and servants of witches. Some owls were believed to transform into succubae. The ability of an owl to turn its head almost a full 360 degrees led to Christian belief that it was a servant of the devil.

Despite a lot of negative beliefs, the owl has also been credited with profound wisdom, oracular powers, and the ability to avert evil. De Givry suggests that the owl, along with the cat and the toad, is the inseparable companion of every witch.

Gimbutas, Marija: The Language of the Goddess. Harper & Row, 1989. Walker, Barbara G.: The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects. HarperSanFrancisco, 1988.

What does it mean when you dream about an owl?

A symbol of wisdom and virtue, as a night bird the owl is also a natural symbol of the unconscious. Solemn and wide-eyed, the owl may bear a message the dreamer needs to heed.

owl

[au̇l]

(vertebrate zoology)

Any of a number of diurnal and nocturnal birds of prey composing the order Strigiformes; characterized by a large head, more or less forward-directed large eyes, a short hooked bill, and strong talons.

owl

nocturnal bird; Night embodied. [Art: Hall, 231]

See: Night

owl

associated with Athena, goddess of wisdom. [Gk. Myth.: Hall, 231]

See: Wisdom

OWL

(company)

Office Workstations Limited.

OWL

(language)

Object Windows Language.

Owl

(3)

The original name of Trellis.

This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)

OWL

(1) (Web Ontology Language) A comprehensive language that is used to define the vocabulary in an RDF data model. A superset of the RDFS language, every OWL document is an RDF document, but OWL Lite and OWL DL (OWL Description Logistics) are subsets (see RDFS).

Why Is This OWL Instead of WOL?
Because OWL sounds catchier and is also reminiscent of William A. Martin's One World Language project of the 1970s. See RDF, SPARQL and Semantic Web.

(2) (ObjectWindows Library) A class library of Windows objects from Borland that serves as an application framework for developing Windows applications in C++. It is the Borland counterpart of the Microsoft Foundation Class Library (MFC).

Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.

Owl

(dreams)

It is another symbol for the unconscious. It usually represents wisdom and virtue, and your unconscious may be giving you important messages, so pay attention to the details in the dream. In the American Indian tradition, the owl is considered to be the eagle of the night. Dreaming about owls is a powerful dream that may indicate that changes are on the way. Superstition-based dream interpretations suggest that dreaming about an owl is a negative omen, which indicates a reversal in good fortune. An owl in the house predicts family arguments and chasing it away might cause things to work out for the best.

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

Alexandre Roulin, Luis San Jose from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, found that white owls were more easily seen by their prey on moonlit nights.

Why white barn owls hunt better under full moon; NATURE

If current trends continue, scientists predict that the Spotted Owl could be extinct in the region within approximately six to eight decades.

Despite habitat protection, Northern Spotted Owl population is declining

The ears of a barn owl are set on the sides of its head hidden by the bird's plumage, but not level.

Owl over for birds that rely on rough grazing?

In a video uploaded on Facebook by Jose Ritche Bongcaron, faculty and director of the presidential management office of DLSU-D, the owl looked tired and could be seen stumbling on the ground.

WATCH: Young, injured owl found in DLSU-Dasmarinas campus gets rescued

Unlike most other owl species, which are nocturnal, snowy owls are highly diurnal, meaning they are very active during the daytime.

A FLASH OF WHITE: THE SNOWY OWL IRRUPTION OF 2017-2018

Along with pumpkins and trick or treaters, October is for owls. They play a role in the Halloween season, as folklore has them -- along with black cats -- accompanying witches.

Kings Gap to host free 'Owls in PA' program, show banding of owls

During the Middle Ages, the early Christian church saw the owl as the perfect symbol of evil.

Owls in folklore: Halloween icon, or harbinger of death?

Spotted owlet, Little owlet, Tawny owl, Diversity, Nest, MHNP.

Short Communication - Diversity and Nest Characteristics of Owl Species Inhabiting Margalla Hills National Park Islamabad, Pakistan

The Owls Trust rescues injured wild birds of prey and are involved in the conservation of some of the rarest owl species worldwide.

DAHL ILLUSTRATOR SIR QUENTIN BECOMES OWLS TRUST PATRON

5 For most owl species, females are larger, heavier and more aggressive than males.

Flights of fancy; We're utterly captivated by the fluffy precision killers in C5's The Secret Life Of Owls. From barn owls to little owls, we're hooked on their every feather

You may not even see the ear tufts on the short-eared owl, hence the name.

An Owl Field Guide