好词典

owls

UK //aʊlz//US //aʊlz//

词源

源自古英语 'ūle',与古高地德语 'ūwila' 同源,拟声词模仿猫头鹰的叫声。

noun

❶ 猫头鹰,一种夜行性猛禽,头部大而圆,眼睛大且向前,以捕食小型动物为生,常在夜间活动并发出独特的叫声。

“We heard owls hooting in the forest at night.”

(晚上我们听到森林里猫头鹰在鸣叫。)

“Owls have excellent night vision and can hunt in complete darkness.”

(猫头鹰有极佳的夜视能力,能在完全黑暗中捕猎。)

同义词:night birds, raptors, birds of prey

常见短语

night owl — 指喜欢熬夜或夜间活动的人,形容其作息习惯像猫头鹰一样昼伏夜出。

“My roommate is a night owl who often stays up until 3am working on projects.”

(我的室友是个夜猫子,经常熬夜到凌晨三点做项目。)

wise as an owl — 形容某人非常聪明睿智,借用猫头鹰在西方文化中象征智慧的形象。

“The old professor was as wise as an owl, always giving perfect advice.”

(那位老教授智慧如猫头鹰,总能给出完美的建议。)