Learn English – How did “owly” come to mean irritable or grouchy

word-usage

I am curious about the history of "owly" to mean irritable, grumpy, or uncooperative.

The Word Detective explains (but doesn't substantiate) that the association derives from the fact that many owls have tufts of feathers above their eyes which resemble the furrowed brow of a grumpy old man. Seems a bit specious to me, particularly since I thought we associated owls primarily with wisdom.

Also: is this usage – as a colleague insists – truly limited to northeastern US and eastern Canada?

Best Answer

It is actually related to how owls look. They look grumpy! (at least most of them).

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There is a strong evidence that it might be originated from Nova Scotia or around that region in colloquial usage:

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[South Shore Phrase Book: New, Revised and Expanded Nova Scotia Dictionary By Lewis Poteet (2004)]

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[Dictionary of Prince Edward Island English edited by T. K. Pratt (1996)]

The Word Detective also talks about the origin of this term based on a question asked by a Nova Scotian whose mother called her and her sister "owly" when they were in irritable moods. It also relates the term to owl's appearance:

Such is the case with “owly,” which is indeed how it’s spelled. Since at least the mid-19th century, “owly” has been a colloquial term meaning “cranky, cross, angry or fretful.” It’s considered a regional usage, found largely in eastern Canada and the Upper Midwest of the US.

The Oxford English Dictionary lists “owly” first as a synonym of “owlish,” meaning, literally, “resembling an owl,” but usually applied to people who exhibit an unblinking, calm (but often critical) gaze, similar to that of a wide-eyed owl (“The little man with his most owlish air of wisdom,” I. Zangwill, 1895).

“Owly” as a synonym for “cranky” or “irritable” appears to draw on another aspect of the owl’s appearance. Many species of owl have tufts of feathers above their eyes, making the bird resemble a little man with his brow furrowed in disapproval and annoyance. Coupled with the owl’s intense, piercing stare, you have a perfect visual metaphor for someone in a persistently implacable bad mood.

An older dialectal dictionary gives the meaning as stupid and tired for owly; and sleepy and stupid for owlish. The meaning might have expanded in time or this usage might be unrelated and archaic in British English. All the three dictionaries below say that owly is a word in Suffolk dialect.

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[English Dialect Dictionary (EDD) compiled by Joseph Wright (1898-1905)]

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[A dictionary of archaic and provincial words, obsolete phrases, proverbs, and ancient customs, from the fourteenth century, Volume 2, By James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps (1852)]

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[Dictionary of obsolete and provincial English, Volume 2, By Thomas Wright (1857)]

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