Definition of "owlish"

"You're very right," he said, with owlish smugness, adjusting a waistcoat button that had come loose, and smoothing his cuffs.

1914, Theodore Dreiser, The Titan, Chapter 26

He feebly wanted to get out of this, away from clucking nurses and Dr. Crittenham's owlish peering and the horrible scrambled eggs and cold toast.

1951, Sinclair Lewis, chapter 2, in World So Wide‎

This owl imitated Trumpkin’s voice rather well, and there were sounds of owlish laughter all round.

1953, C. S. Lewis, chapter 4, in The Silver Chair, Collins, published 1998

[…] their large black eyes scanned the drawings with the owlish look of wisdom peculiar to connoisseurs.

1880, R. M. Ballantyne, Blown to Bits or, The Lonely Man of Rakata