# sparrow
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English sparwe, sparowe, from Old English spearwa, from Proto-West Germanic *sparwō, from Proto-Germanic *sparwô, from Proto-Indo-European *spḗr (“sparrow”).
Cognate with Dutch spreeuw (“starling”), Alemannic German Spar (“sparrow”), German Sperling (“sparrow”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål spurv (“sparrow”), Norwegian Nynorsk sporv (“sparrow”), Swedish sparv (“sparrow”), Breton frao (“crow”), Tocharian A spārāñ, Ancient Greek ψάρ (psár, “starling”).

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈspæɹəʊ/
* (US) IPA: /ˈspæɹoʊ/, /ˈspɛɹoʊ/
* Audio (US, without the Mary–marry–merry merger):(file)
* Audio (US, Mary–marry–merry merger):(file)
* Rhymes: -æɹəʊ

### Noun

sparrow (plural sparrows)
* The house sparrow, Passer domesticus; a small bird with a short bill, and brown, white and gray feathers.
    Synonyms: spadger, (Australia) spoggy, spuggy
** 1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., published 1921, page 192: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 Emberizidae, comprising small New World songbirds.
* Generically, any small, nondescript bird.
* (UK, chiefly London) A quick-witted, lively person.
    cockney sparrow
** 1878, Charles Henry Ross, Ally Sloper's guide to the Paris exhibition, page 54:I take it there 's scarcely a happier fellow alive than your honest town-bred smoke-dried cockney sparrow.
** 2005, Drama Faces: Martine McCutcheon‎, BBC:Professional cockney sparrow Martine has acted since childhood.

#### Hyponyms

* American sparrow
* American tree sparrow
* Bachman's sparrow
* barley sparrow
* Bell's sparrow
* Botteri's sparrow
* bush sparrow
* Cape sparrow
* Cassin's sparrow
* chipping sparrow
* cock-sparrow
* cock sparrow
* crown sparrow
* diamond sparrow
* English sparrow
* Eurasian tree sparrow
* field sparrow
* Forbush's sparrow
* fox sparrow
* German sparrow
* grasshopper sparrow
* grass sparrow
* ground sparrow
* Harris's sparrow
* hedge sparrow
* Henslow's sparrow
* hen sparrow
* house sparrow
* Ipswich sparrow
* Italian sparrow
* Java sparrow
* lark sparrow
* LeConte's sparrow
* Lincoln's sparrow
* mountain sparrow
* native sparrow
* Nelson's sparrow
* New World sparrow
* night sparrow
* Old World sparrow
* paradise sparrow
* reed sparrow
* ring sparrow
* rock sparrow
* rufous-collared sparrow
* rufous-crowned sparrow
* russet sparrow
* sagebrush sparrow
* sage sparrow
* saltmarsh sparrow
* Savannah sparrow
* saxaul sparrow
* seaside sparrow
* sharp-tailed sparrow
* snow sparrow
* song sparrow
* Spanish sparrow
* Texas sparrow
* tree sparrow
* true sparrow
* vesper sparrow
* water sparrow
* white-crowned sparrow
* white-throated sparrow
* Zapata sparrow

#### Derived terms

* olive sparrow
* sparrow dominoes
* sparrow-fart
* sparrow fart
* sparrow grass
* sparrow-grass
* sparrowhawk
* sparrow hawk
* sparrowish
* sparrowlark
* sparrow-lark
* sparrowless
* sparrowlike
* sparrow mumbling
* sparrow owl
* sparrow-proof
* sparrow shot
* sparrows' wedding
* sparrow-weaver
* sparrow weaver
* sparrowwort

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Further reading

* sparrow on Wikipedia.Wikipedia