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owly

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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From owl +‎ -y.

Adjective

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owly (comparative owlier, superlative owliest)

  1. Resembling or characteristic of an owl.
    • 2010, Tracy Chevalier, Remarkable Creatures, Dutton, published 2010, →ISBN, page 48:
      In the picture Miss Elizabeth showed me the croc had little piggy eyes, not huge owly ones.
  2. (Atlantic Canada) In a bad mood; cranky.
    • 1988, Janette Oke, Winter Is Not Forever, Bethany House Publishers, published 2010, →ISBN, page 16:
      I had no right to be owly and disagreeable with Willie.
  3. Seeing poorly.
    • 1908, Vernon L. Kellogg, “The Vendetta”, in Insect Stories[1], Henry Holt and Company, page 55:
      Perhaps nice isn't the best word for him, but he certainly was an unusually imposing and fluffy-haired and fierce-looking brute of a tarantula. He had rather an owly way about him, as if he had come out from his hole too early and was dazed and half-blinded by the light.
  4. (Atlantic Canada) Silly.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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References

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  • T. K. Pratt, Dictionary of Prince Edward Island English, University of Toronto Press (1988), →ISBN, pages 107-108
  • The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia, The Century Co. (1897), Volume 5, page 265

Anagrams

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