Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of numerous tropical and semitropical birds of the order Psittaciformes, characterized by a short hooked bill, brightly colored plumage, and, in some species, the ability to mimic human speech or other sounds.
- n. One who imitates the words or actions of another, especially without understanding them.
- v. To repeat or imitate, especially without understanding.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Any bird of the family Psittacidæ or order Psittaci; a zygodactyl scansorial bird with a cered and hooked bill. Parrot is the general name of all such birds, various kinds of them being called
cockatoos , macaws, parrakeets, lories, and by many other more specific names. When used in a stricter sense, it usually refers to Old World birds of moderate or rather large size, of stout build, with strong beak, fleshy tongue, and short square tail, as in the restricted genus Psittacus, of which the African P. erythacus, of a gray color with a bright-red tail, is a characteristic example and one of the commonest of cage-birds. The natural cries of parrots are, as a rule, extremely loud and harsh; but many of the fleshy-tongued species can be taught to articulate words and even sentences in a perfectly intelligible manner. Most parrots are expert climbers, and in scrambling about use the bill as well as the feet, the upper mandible being peculiarly movable. The tongue in some species is also used as an organ of touch, almost of prehension, objects being often held and handled between the tip of the tongue and the hook of the beak. These birds are mostly vegetarian, feeding upon seeds and especially soft fruits, but some are carnivorous. Their temper is uncertain, though several kinds exhibit the most affectionate and gentle disposition, at least toward one another. In size and shape parrots differ greatly, more than is usual among the representatives of any one family of birds: some of the smallest species are no larger than sparrows, as those of the genus Nasiterna, while the great macaws attain a length of about three feet. Their coloration is equally diversified: some are black or gray; some are snowy-white; green is the most characteristic color; yellow, red, and blue, often of the most brilliant tone, are very common; and many parrots are variegated with all these colors. The sexes are usually colored alike. Gaudiness of coloration reaches its extreme in the macaws, while the most beautiful and dainty tinting is common among the lories, and plain or somber shades are exceptional throughout the order. Of parrots of all kinds there are about 350 species, classed in from 25 to 100 genera according to the views of different ornithologists. They abound in all tropical countries, but seldom extend into temperate countries, except Australia and New Zealand. In round numbers, the geographical distribution of parrots is as follows: America is richest in species, having 150, only one of which occurs in the United States, though two or three others come nearly or quite to the Mexican border; the Moluccas and Papuan islands have 80 species, Australia 60, and Polynesia 30; 25 are African; and 20 are peculiar to Asia. See also cuts tinder cockatoo, Conurus, corella, Euphema, macaw, Melopsittacus, and parrakeet. - n. Hence A mere repeater of the words or actions of another
- To say or repeat by rote or not understandingly, like a parrot; repeat mechanically; also, to imitate like a parrot.
- To chatter as a parrot.
- To repeat, parrot-like, what one has heard or been taught.
Wiktionary
- n. A kind of bird, many species of which are colourful and able to mimic human speech.
- n. A parroter; a person who repeats what was just said.
- n. archaic A puffin.
- n. geology, obsolete Channel coal.
- v. transitive To repeat (exactly what has just been said) without necessarily showing understanding, in the manner of a parrot.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) In a general sense, any bird of the order Psittaci.
- n. (Zoöl.) Any species of Psittacus, Chrysotis, Pionus, and other genera of the family
Psittacidæ , as distinguished from the parrakeets, macaws, and lories. They have a short rounded or even tail, and often a naked space on the cheeks. The gray parrot, or jako (Psittacus erithacus) of Africa (see Jako), and the species of Amazon, or green, parrots (Chrysotis) of America, are examples. Many species, as cage birds, readily learn to imitate sounds, and to repeat words and phrases. - v. To repeat by rote, without understanding, as a parrot.
- v. To chatter like a parrot.
WordNet 3.0
- v. repeat mindlessly
- n. a copycat who does not understand the words or acts being imitated
- n. usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds
Etymologies
- First attested in 1525. From Middle French perrot, either a diminutive of Pierre or a shortened form of perroquet. Compare French pierrot and Occitan parrat. A number of origins have been suggested for perroquet, such as Spanish periquito and Italian parrochetto. The relationship between these various words is disputed. Replaced earlier popinjay. (Wiktionary)
- Probably from French dialectal Perrot, diminutive of Pierre, Peter. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Follow us on twitter @parrot & @ardrone Learn more on www. parrot.com”
WN.com - Articles related to Iran unveils bomber drone that aims to deliver peace and friendship
“Kristen, the parrot is a weak moment that my Dh capatilized on.”
“Luciano Cheles has observed that the parrot is an attribute of Mercury, the god of eloquence: It is tempting to argue that Rhetoric has been symbolized ... by the twin motif of the cage with the parrots, and the clock.”
Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro
“To compare him to a parrot is an insult to parrots and a compliment to dittoheads.”
Think Progress » Frustrated by Facts, Right-Wing Turns to Fiction Author For Policy Advice
“Update: Churhill's kids say that the parrot is a fake: His daughter, Lady Soames, 82, told The Scotsman: 'I'm fed up with this story that my father taught it rude words.”
“He just sounds like a Griffin parrot on Shuttle, the gap, Chinese, etc.”
“That parrot is definitely deceased, and when I bought it not half an hour ago, you assured me that its total lack of movement was due to it being tired and shagged out after a long squawk.”
“Mr Ferlazzo, 50, said he bought the parrot from a pet shop in Harlow, Essex, in 1984 and spent months training him to make him tame.”
The Huffington Post: Pet Custody: Battle Over Italian-Speaking Parrot That Whistles O Sole Mio
“Surely not as cool as the Obama-talkin 'parrot .....”
“He curls his little arms over my shoulder and grips me with his little fists of steel; trying to remove him from his perch on my body is like trying to loose a recalcitrant parrot from a branch made entirely of crackers and peanut butter.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘parrot’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11250 more...
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birds
birds with singular names from
at least 9 English dictionariesaasvogel, aberdevine, accentor, accipiter, aepyornis, agami, albatross, alcatras, alcid, alcidine, amadavat, amokura and 1056 more...
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You animal!
Names of animals that are also used to describe kinds of people. Nouns only, preferably single word.
For a related list, see sionnach's beastly verbs.rabbit, shark, hog, pussycat, bear, bull, skunk, hawk, wildcat, buck, slug, heifer and 112 more...
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tHe Best Animals Ever
giraffe, elepant, cattle, water buffalo, langur monkey, baboon, lion, antelope, cheetah, tapeworm, kangaroo, bullfrog and 102 more...
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Stuffie: Dead
Stuff that's dead.
last, right, straight, reckoning, ahead, duck, heat, end, beat, walking, pool, grateful and 53 more...
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animals
horse, bear, fish, bull, pig, donkey, elephant, cow, tortoise, cat, sheep, dog and 14 more...
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Monty Python words
inquisition, spanish, spam, parrot, silly, walking, yes it is, no it isn't, argument, clinic, ping!, sperm and 49 more...
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animals (2 syllable)
A list of common animal names. Keep the list to 2 syllable words.No scientific names. No proper names like 'Fluffy' the elephant.Insects and other creatures (even ficticious like 'dragon') are we...
baboon, rabbit, raptor, dragon, camel, hornet, llama, cobra, cheetah, penguin, puppy, dolphin and 87 more...
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More Bird Wirds: North America
Birds endemic to the United States and/or North America.
toucan, peacock, weaver, bullfinch, redpoll, siskin, crossbill, finch, rosy-finch, oriole, cowbird, blackbird and 213 more...
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What's That Pokémon Name?
Words used to create the names of Pokémon, which are usually portmanteaux.
bulb, dinosaur, ivy, venus, char, salamander, squirt, turtle, blast, tortoise, water, caterpillar and 525 more...
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Two years
Okay, I admit it. I made a list of words my daughter knew when she was two years old.
bat, baba, a, abalone, about, acorn, adrienne, after, again, airplane, alison, all and 694 more...
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End in -ot
Just what it says. Words that end in -ot.
wainscot, ascot, marmot, jot, ocelot, spot, blot, scot, lot, shot, dot, snot and 219 more...
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beastly verbs
someone must already have this list?
squirrel away, worm it out of so..., pony up, fish for compliments, weasel out, badger, outfox, horse around, hound, cow, chicken out, goose and 99 more...
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Still More Bird Wirds
A work in progress....Birds from around the world (other than endemic to North America).
barbet, hornbill, trogon, bee-eater, bristlehead, wren-babbler, stubtail, blackeye, bush warbler, cassowary, bowerbird, bird-of-paradise and 723 more...
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Words that remind me of Monty Python
shrubbery, cheese, lumberjack, silly, confusion, ministry, spam, fish, python, monty, knight, the comfy chair and 15 more...
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genuinejessie's Words
cockatoo, goffins, glamour model, natural blonde, camera, website design, photographer, blogger, writing, journal, macro photography, glamour photography and 43 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for parrot.

fer_k Please sir, a baked dead (it must be dead, indeed) parrot with SPAM, SPAM, potatoes, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, sausage, bacon, SPAM, egg, SPAM and SPAM. Sep 29, 2007
oroboros Polly wanna shrubbery? Jun 27, 2007
reesetee Doh! I didn't see that this was on your "Words That Remind Me of Monty Python" list, SoG. Apologies. Jun 27, 2007
reesetee Good to know. :-)
The larch. The larch. The larch. Hmm...doesn't work unless there's sound. Jun 27, 2007
uselessness Perched in a larch. Jun 27, 2007
sonofgroucho Absolutely! Jun 27, 2007
reesetee Why dead? Monty Python? Jun 27, 2007
sonofgroucho As in the dead variety. Jun 27, 2007