owl

Owl comes from Old English ūle, from Proto-West Germanic *uwwulā, itself from Proto-Germanic *uwwulǭ — a diminutive form of *uwwǭ, meaning 'eagle-owl.' That root is thought to be imitative, mimicking the bird's call, or connected to Proto-Indo-European *up-, meaning 'to cry out.'

The word began as a 'little' version of an older word for the eagle-owl, formed by adding a diminutive ending. It passed through Middle English forms like howle and oule before settling into the modern spelling owl.

The Proto-Indo-European root *up- also underlies Russian вопль (voplʹ, 'cry, scream, wail') and Czech úpět ('to howl, wail'), suggesting the owl was named for its cry rather than its appearance. It's also cognate with Dutch uil and German Eule, both simply meaning 'owl.'