/nok"chooh id/ , n.
1. Also called owlet moth . any of numerous dull-colored moths of the family Noctuidae, the larvae of which include the armyworms and cutworms.
adj.
2. belonging or pertaining to the family Noctuidae.
[ 1875-80; Noctuidae, equiv. to Noctu ( a ) a genus of European moths (L noctua the little owl, prob. n. use of fem. of * noctuus, equiv. to noct-, s. of nox NIGHT + -uus adj. suffix) + -idae -ID 2 ]