Parrot
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A kind of bird, many species of which are colorful and able to mimic human speech, of the order Psittaciformes or (narrowly) of the family Psittacidae.
"I bought a wonderful parrot at the pet store."
- 2 usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds wordnet
- 3 A parroter; a person who repeats the words or ideas of others. figuratively
"What kind of a parrot are you? He just said that."
- 4 a copycat who does not understand the words or acts being imitated wordnet
- 5 A puffin. archaic
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 channel coal. obsolete
- 7 A transponder. slang
- 1 To repeat (exactly what has just been said) without necessarily showing understanding, in the manner of a parrot. transitive
"The interviewee merely parroted the views of her tabloid."
- 2 repeat mindlessly wordnet
- 1 A surname transferred from the given name.
Example
More examples"Irene Pepperberg, a researcher at Northwestern University, is discovering that a parrot can not only mimic people but also learn the meaning of words."
Etymology
First attested in 1525. From Middle French perrot, either a diminutive of Pierre or a shortened form of perroquet (whence also parakeet). Compare French pierrot and Occitan parrat. A number of origins have been suggested for perroquet, such as Spanish periquito and Italian parrocchetto. The relationship between these various words is disputed. Replaced earlier popinjay.
Variant of Parrott.