"Owlglass, n." - Word of the Day from the OED

[Dave Monroe]

On Tue, May 29, 2012 at 7:50 PM, Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com> wrote:

> OED Online Word of the Day
> ________________________________
>
> Your word for today is: Owlglass, n.
>
> Owlglass, n.
> Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈaʊlglɑːs/, /ˈaʊlglas/,  U.S. /ˈaʊlˌglæs/
> Forms: α.    15 Holliglass,   15 Howliglass,   15–16 Holeglas,   15–16
> Howleglas,   15–16 Howleglase,   15–16 Howleglasse,   15–16
> Howliglasse,   16 Howle-glas;   Sc.  pre-17 Holeglas,   pre-17
> Holiglass,   pre-17 Holiglasse,   pre-17 Holyglas,   pre-17
> Howliglass.  β.   15–16 Owleglasse,   16 Owlaglass,   16 Owleglas,
> 16 Owliglasse,   16 Owlyglasse,   16 18– Owlglass.
> Etymology: <  owl n. + glass n.1, as English form of the name of Till
> Eulenspiegel, a legendary German jester and trickster (perhaps based
> on a historical figure of the early 14th cent.), after the apparent
> meaning of the German name (taken to show Eule owl and Spiegel
> mirror); some forms apparently show also the influence of howlet n.
> and perhaps also of holly n. or holy adj. Compare Owl-spiegle n.,
> Owlspiegle v.
> Anecdotes about the pranks played by Till Eulenspiegel, especially on
> figures of authority, appeared in print in German in c1510 (Ein
> kurtzweilig Lesen von Dil Ulenspiegel)
>  Now rare.
>   (An Anglicization of the name of) the legendary German jester Till
> Eulenspiegel, the type of a roguish fool; (hence) a jester; a buffoon.
> Also occas. as a more general term of abuse.

http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/135502

Rachel Owlglass

http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Rachel_Owlglass