howlet

American  

[hou-lit] / ˈhaʊ lɪt /

noun

British Dialect.

1. an owl or owlet.

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howlet British  

/ ˈhaʊlɪt /

noun

1. archaic another word for owl

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Etymology

Origin of howlet

1425–75; late Middle English; perhaps < French hulotte wood-owl, perhaps derivative of Middle French huler to howl < Germanic; see howl

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

howlet

I was both aweary and sleepy and also as poor as a howlet, and all that the wicked witch knew. 

From Bunyan Characters (2nd Series) by Whyte, Alexander

As I stood by yon roofless tower, Where the wa'flow'r scents the dery air, Where the howlet mourns in her ivy bower, And tells the midnight moon her care.

From Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Burns, Robert

He stands by a roofless tower, where "the howlet mourns in her dewy bower," and "sets the wild echoes flying," and adds to a perfect picture of the scene his famous vision of "Libertie."

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 "Bulgaria" to "Calgary" by Various

There was three fooles, fell out about an howlet: The one sed it was an owle, The other he sed nay, The third he sed it was a hawke, And her bels wer cut away.

From The Two Noble Kinsmen by Shakespeare (spurious and doubtful works)

Umph!" answered the King—"but you have never seen my daughter Joan.—A howlet, man!—an absolute owl, whom I am ashamed of!

From Quentin Durward by Scott, Walter, Sir