sea owl

3 definitions found

sea owl - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Sea owl \Sea" owl`\ (s[=e]" oul`). (Zool.)
     The lumpfish.
     [1913 Webster]

  Owl \Owl\ (oul), n. [AS. [=u]le; akin to D. uil, OHG. [=u]wila,
     G. eule, Icel. ugla, Sw. ugla, Dan. ugle.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. (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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     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. --Am. Cyc.
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     2. (Zool.) A variety of the domestic pigeon.
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     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.
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  Lumpfish \Lump"fish`\, n. [From Lump, on account of its
     bulkiness: cf. G. & D. lump, F. lompe.] (Zool.)
     A large, thick, clumsy, marine fish (Cyclopterus lumpus) of
     Europe and America. The color is usually translucent sea
     green, sometimes purplish. It has a dorsal row of spiny
     tubercles, and three rows on each side, but has no scales.
     The ventral fins unite and form a ventral sucker for adhesion
     to stones and seaweeds. Called also lumpsucker,
     cock-paddle, sea owl.
     [1913 Webster]