What is the name for the fear of......?

Question

Owls

Answer 1

Unfortunately this answer is not going to be THAT great... because as far and wide as I searched, there doesn't seem to be a verifiable word for a fear of owls.

Some websites claim that "oclophobia" and/or "ochlophobia" are words for this fear, but just about EVERY other site claims that those words are for a fear of crowds (as the Greek word 'okhlos' means crowd).

So, I decided I'd try to go for second best and make you some words that could possibly mean a fear of owls!

1. The word 'owl' comes from the Old English/Germanic word 'ule', so 'ulephobia' could mean a fear of owls! (Strictly speaking though, this isn't really good word construction, because I have mixed two different languages into the one word... as 'phobia' derives from Greek!)

2. 'Noctiphobia' is a fear of nighttime and 'orthinophobia' is a fear of birds, so perhaps 'noctorthinophobia' could mean a fear of nocturnal birds (e.g. the owl!)

So, in summary, the word you're after could be ochlophobia, oclophobia, ulephobia or noctorthinophobia, depending on what level of incorrectness you're willing to stoop to (I personally like some made-up words!!)  :)

Hope this is of some interest, sorry it wasn't quite what you asked for!

Answer 2

The fear of owls is known as ochlophobia.