sparrow

English

/ˈspæɹəʊ/, /ˈspæɹoʊ/

noun
Definitions
  • The house sparrow, Passer domesticus; a small bird with a short bill, and brown, white and gray feathers.
  • A member of the family Passeridae, comprising small Old World songbirds.
  • A member of the family Emberizidae, comprising small New World songbirds.
  • Generically, any small, nondescript bird.
  • (UK) A quick-witted, lively person. Often used in the phrase cockney sparrow.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English sparwe inherited from Old English spearwa (sparrow) inherited from *sparwō inherited from Proto-Germanic *sparwô (sparrow) derived from Proto-Indo-European *spḗr (sparrow, bird).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*spḗr

Gloss

sparrow, bird

Concept
Semantic Field

Animals

Ontological Category

Person/Thing

Kanji

雀

Emoji

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms