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The meaning and origin of the expression: Night owl

Night owl

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What's the meaning of the phrase 'Night owl'?

A person who is active late at night.

What's the origin of the phrase 'Night owl'?

'Nightowl' was originally just a synonym for 'owl' and has been used as such since at least 1581, when Bell and Foxe included it it their translated work Against Jerome Osorius. That seems rather tautological as owls are predominantly nocturnal and, in an apparent general acceptance of that view, the literal use of the word is now rather rare.

Night owlThe figurative use of the term, that is, as a reference to people rather than owls, also began in the 16th century. Shakespeare used it in 1594 in the narrative poem The Rape of Lucrece:

This said, his guilty hand pluck'd up the latch,
And with his knee the door he opens wide.
The dove sleeps fast that this night-owl will catch:
Thus treason works ere traitors be espied.

The Bard didn't give up on the literal usage though. It appears, in contexts which make the literal reference to a bird clear, in both Richard II, 1593:

"For nightowles shreeke, where mounting larkes should sing."

The meaning and origin of the phrase 'Night owl'and in Twelfth Night, 1602:

"Shall wee rowze the night-Owle in a Catch?"

Gary Martin - the author of the phrases.org.uk website.

By Gary Martin

Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

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