During the last meeting, Darcy mentioned the word gufo as the Esperanto word for “owl,” which surprised me because I knew word for owl as strigo. So, I checked into the two words.
First, I checked the Universala Vortaro, to verify that both words really are fundamenta:
- strig’ hibou | owl | Eule | сова | sowa.
- guf’ grand-duc | owl | Uhu | филинъ | puchacz.
Then I checked this page on European names of owls. From that it’s clear that strigo is the general term and that gufo refers to the European Eagle Owl (and, presumably, other similar large owls with feather tufts at the ears).
Kvar semajna gufido.
As far as gufujoj goes (and here I’m speaking of the no-smoking, no-alcohol drinking spots for youth at Esperanto conferences), the Esperanto Wikipedio entry says that the term was chosen because the gufo is “active at night.” But I believe this picture shows the real reason.
Doesn’t that look just like a young Esperantist who’s had too much tea (and not enough booze)?
Photo by Judepics, used under a “Creative Commons” license.