sparrow
English · Thesaurus
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sparrow¹
- /ˈspæɹəʊ/ UK
- /ˈspaɹəw/ British, Southern, Standard
- /ˈspæɹoʊ/ US
- /ˈspɛɹoʊ/
- /ˈspaɾo/ Scotland
- /ˈspaɾou/ Wales
Rhymes with -æɹəʊ
Where it comes from
From Middle English sparewe, sparowe, sparu, sparwe, spearewe, sperrewe, from Old English spearwa, from Proto-West Germanic *sparwō, from Proto-Germanic *sparwô, from Proto-Indo-European *spḗr (“sparrow”).
Cognates
Cognate with Yola sparrowe (“sparrow”), North Frisian sparag, spåri (“sparrow”), Saterland Frisian Spräie (“sparrow”), Alemannic German and Luxembourgish Spatz (“sparrow”), Dutch spreeuw (“starling”), German Spatz, Sperling (“sparrow”), Vilamovian śpielik, śpjelik, śpjeliḱ (“sparrow”), Yiddish שפּערל (shperl, “sparrow”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål spurv (“sparrow”), Faroese spurvur (“sparrow”), Norwegian Nynorsk sporv (“sparrow”), Swedish sparv (“sparrow”), Gothic 𐍃𐍀𐌰𐍂𐍅𐌰 (sparwa, “sparrow”); also Latin parra (“bird of ill omen”), Ancient Greek ψάρ (psár), ψήρ (psḗr, “starling”).
noun sparrows
- The house sparrow, Passer domesticus; a small bird with a short bill, and brown, white and gray feathers. Man progresses generally, not both legs at once like a sparrow, but by putting one leg forward first, and then the other.
- A member of the family Passeridae, comprising small Old World songbirds.
- A member of the family Passerellidae (or Emberizidae, under classification systems that subsume the New World sparrows under Emberizidae), comprising small New World songbirds.
- Generically, any small, nondescript bird.
- A quick-witted, lively person. cockney sparrow
Sparrow²
Where it comes from
From Middle English Sparow.
proper noun
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: hedge sparrow, dunnock, true sparrow, prunella modularis, finch, lark, longspur, hawk, bird, birdie, chipping, fip, bunting, bandit, vesper, probie
Translations
Every language
noun bird of the family Passeridae
| Español | pasérido, gorrión, pardal |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 참새 chamsae |
| 日本語 | 雀 suzume |
| 中文 | 麻雀 máquè |
| हिन्दी | गौरैया gauraiyā, गौरिया gauriyā |
| Kiswahili | shomoro |
| Português | pardal |
| Français | moineau |
| Deutsch | Sperling, Spatz |
| Italiano | passero |
| Ελληνικά | σπουργίτι spourgíti, σπουργίτης spourgítis |
| Română | vrabie |
| Русский | воробе́й vorobéj, воро́бышек voróbyšek, воро́бушек voróbušek |
| Tiếng Việt | sẻ |
| العربية | عَصْفُور ʕaṣfūr, عُصْفُور ʕuṣfūr |
| עברית | דְּרוֹר dror, אַנְקוֹר anqór |
noun bird of the family Emberizidae
| Português | escrevedeira |
|---|---|
| Français | bruant |
noun generically, any small, nondescript bird
| Español | pájaro |
|---|---|
| Português | passarinho |
| Français | piaf |
| العربية | عَصْفُور ʕaṣfūr |
Talk about this word "sparrow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sparrow. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. sparrow. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sparrow "sparrow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sparrow.Cite this
@misc{sparrow_2026,
title = {sparrow},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sparrow},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
