From Old High Germanūwila, from a variant of Proto-Germanic*uwwalǭ (compare Dutch uil, West Frisian ûle, English owl), diminutive of *uwwǭ ‘eagle-owl’ (compare German Uhu), of imitative origin or a variant of *ūfaz, *ūfǭ (compare Swedish uv ‘horned owl’, Bavarian Auf), from Proto-Indo-European*up-.