sparrow

See also: Sparrow

English

A male sparrow (Passer domesticus)

A female sparrow (Passer domesticus)

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^(key): /ˈspæɹəʊ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈspæɹoʊ/, /ˈspɛɹoʊ/

• Audio (US, without the Mary–marry–merry merger):

  (file)

• Audio (US, Mary–marry–merry merger):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æɹəʊ

Noun

sparrow (plural sparrows)

2. 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.

3. A member of the family Passeridae, comprising small Old World songbirds.
4. A member of the family Emberizidae, comprising small New World songbirds.
5. Generically, any small, nondescript bird.
6. (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^[1], BBC:

     Professional cockney sparrow Martine has acted since childhood.

Hyponyms

• American sparrow
• American tree sparrow
• barley sparrow
• Botteri's sparrow
• bush sparrow
• Cape sparrow
• Cassin's sparrow
• chipping sparrow
• chipping sparrow
• cock-sparrow
• cock sparrow
• crown sparrow
• diamond sparrow
• English sparrow
• English sparrow
• Eurasian tree sparrow
• field sparrow
• fox sparrow
• fox sparrow
• German sparrow
• grasshopper sparrow
• grass sparrow
• ground sparrow
• hedge sparrow
• hedge sparrow
• Henslow's sparrow
• hen sparrow
• house sparrow
• Ipswich sparrow
• Italian sparrow
• Italian sparrow
• Java sparrow
• Java sparrow
• lark sparrow
• mountain sparrow
• native sparrow
• Nelson's sparrow
• New World sparrow
• New World sparrow
• night sparrow
• Old World 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
• sparrow dominoes
• sparrow fart
• sparrow-fart
• sparrow-grass
• sparrow grass
• sparrow hawk
• tree sparrow
• true sparrow
• vesper sparrow
• water sparrow
• white-crowned sparrow
• white-throated sparrow
• Zapata sparrow

 

Derived terms

• Bachman's sparrow
• Bell's sparrow
• Forbush's sparrow
• Harris's sparrow
• LeConte's sparrow
• Lincoln's sparrow
• olive sparrow
• sparrowhawk
• sparrowish
• sparrow-lark
• sparrowlark
• sparrowless
• sparrowlike
• sparrow mumbling
• sparrow owl
• sparrow-proof
• sparrow shot
• sparrows' wedding
• sparrow-weaver
• sparrow weaver
• sparrowwort

 

Translations

Passer domesticus — see house sparrow

bird of the family Passeridae

• Aghwan: 𐕖𐕒𐔱𐔰𐔾 (čobal)
• Albanian: harabel (sq) m, trumcak (sq) m
• Arabic: عَصْفُور (ʕaṣfūr), عُصْفُور m (ʕuṣfūr)

  Egyptian Arabic: عصفور m (ʕuṣfūr)

• Armenian: ճնճղուկ (hy) (čnčġuk), ծիտ (hy) (cit)

  Middle Armenian: չիտ (čʻit)

  Old Armenian: ծիտ (cit)

• Assamese: ঘৰচিৰিকা (ghorsirika), ঘনচিৰিকা (ghonsirika), ঘৰচৰাই (ghorsorai)
• Azerbaijani: sərçə (az)
• Baluchi: جنجشک (jinjišk)
• Bashkir: турғай (turğay)
• Belarusian: верабе́й (be) m (vjerabjéj), варо́бчык m (varóbčyk) (diminutive)
• Bengali: চড়ুই (bn) (coṛui), চড়াই (bn) (coṛai)
• Bhojpuri: गौरइया (gauraiyā)
• Bulgarian: врабче́ (bg) n (vrabčé)
• Burmese: စာ (my) (ca)
• Carpathian Rusyn: воробе́ль m (vorobélʹ)
• Catalan: pardal (ca) m, teuladí (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 麻雀 (zh) (máquè)

• Chuvash: ҫерҫи (śerś̬i)
• Czech: vrabec (cs) m
• Danish: spurv (da) c
• Dupaningan Agta: pipittot
• Dutch: mus (nl) m or f, huismus (nl) f
• English:

  Old English: spearwa m

• Esperanto: pasero (eo)
• Estonian: varblane (et)
• Faroese: spurvur m, spurv f
• Finnish: varpunen (fi)
• French: moineau (fr) m
• Galician: pardal (gl) m
• Georgian: ბეღურა (ka) (beɣura), ჩიტი (čiṭi)
• German: Sperling (de) m, Spatz (de) m
• Gothic: 𐍃𐍀𐌰𐍂𐍅𐌰 n (sparwa)
• Greek: σπουργίτι (el) n (spourgíti), σπουργίτης (el) m (spourgítis)

  Ancient: στρουθός m (strouthós)

• Gujarati: ચકલી (gu) f (caklī)
• Hebrew: דְּרוֹר (he) m (dror), אַנְקוֹר (he) m (anqór)
• Hindi: गौरैया (hi) m (gauraiyā), गौरिया (hi) f (gauriyā)
• Hungarian: veréb (hu)
• Icelandic: spörfugl (is) m
• Ingrian: cirkkulain
• Irish: gealbhan (ga) m
• Italian: passero (it) m
• Japanese: 雀 (ja) (すずめ, suzume)
• Kashmiri: کٲنٛتُر m (kạ̄ntur), کانٛتُر m (kāntur), ژٔر f (ċạr)
• Kashubian: warbel m
• Kazakh: торғай (torğai)
• Khmer: ចាប (km) (caap)
• Korean: 참새 (ko) (chamsae)
• Kyrgyz: таранчы (ky) (tarancı), тараанчы (ky) (taraancı)
• Lao: ກະຈອກ (ka chǭk)
• Latin: passer (la) m
• Latvian: zvirbulis m
• Lithuanian: žvirblis (lt) m
• Low German: Lüneng m
• Luxembourgish: Spatz m
• Macedonian: врабец m (vrabec), врапче (mk) n (vrapče)
• Malay: pipit (ms)
• Malayalam: കുരുവി (ml) (kuruvi)
• Maori: tiu
• Marathi: चिमणी f (cimṇī), चिमणा m (cimṇā)
• Mingrelian: ჩიტი (čiṭi), ბაღჷრე (baɣəre)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: бор шувуу (bor šuvuu) (ornithological), богширго (mn) (bogširgo), болжмор (mn) (bolžmor) (popular, regional), бялзуухай (mn) (bjalzuuxaj) (popular, regional)

• Navajo: tsídiiłbáhí
• Nepali: भँगेरा (bhãgerā)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: spurv (no) m

  Nynorsk: sporv m

• Occitan: passerat (oc) m, passeron m
• Odia: ଚଟିଆ (or) (caṭiā)
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: врабии m (vrabii)

• Old East Slavic: воробии m (vorobii)
• Old Norse: spǫrr m
• Persian: گنجشک (fa) (gonješk), ملیچ (melič/malič)
• Plautdietsch: Spauz m
• Polish: wróbel (pl) m
• Portuguese: pardal (pt) m
• Romanian: vrabie (ro) f
• Russian: воробе́й (ru) m (vorobéj), воро́бышек (ru) (voróbyšek) (diminutive), воро́бушек (ru) m (voróbušek) (diminutive)
• Sanskrit: चटक (sa) m (caṭaka)
• Scottish Gaelic: gealbhonn m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: вра́бац m

  Roman: vrábac (sh) m

• Slovak: vrabec (sk) m
• Slovene: vrábəc (sl) m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: wrobel m

  Upper Sorbian: wrobl m, wroblik m

• Spanish: pasérido m, gorrión (es) m
• Swahili: shomoro
• Swedish: sparv (sv) c, sparvfink (sv) c
• Sylheti: ꠌꠠꠂ (soṛoi)
• Tagalog: pipit
• Tajik: гунҷишк (tg) (gunjišk), чумчук (čumčuk)
• Tamil: சிட்டுக்குருவி (ta) (ciṭṭukkuruvi), குருவி (ta) (kuruvi)
• Tatar: чыпчык (tt) (çıpçıq)

  Crimean Tatar: torğay

• Telugu: పిచ్చుక (te) (piccuka)
• Thai: กระจอก (th) (grà-jɔ̀ɔk)
• Turkish: serçe (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: سرچه (serçe)

• Turkmen: serçe
• Ubykh: баӷыр (bağər)
• Ukrainian: горобе́ць (uk) m (horobécʹ), горо́бчик m (horóbčyk) (diminutive), воробе́ць m (vorobécʹ) (dated), воробе́ль m (vorobélʹ) (dated or regional)
• Urdu: گورییا m (gauraiyā)
• Uyghur: قۇشقاچ (qushqach)
• Uzbek: chumchuq (uz)
• Venetan: seléga f, séłega f
• Vietnamese: sẻ (vi)
• Waigali: girišig
• Welsh: sbrocsyn (cy) m, sbrocsynnod m pl
• Yakut: барабыай (barabıay)
• Yiddish: שפּערל m (shperl)

bird of the family Emberizidae

• Armenian: դրախտապան (draxtapan)
• Dutch: gors (nl) m or f
• Finnish: sirkku (fi)
• French: bruant (fr) m
• Galician: escribenta (gl) f
• Hungarian: sármány (hu)
• Polish: trznadel (pl) m
• Portuguese: escrevedeira f
• Swedish: fältsparv (sv) c

generically, any small, nondescript bird

• Arabic: عَصْفُور m (ʕaṣfūr)
• Armenian: ծիտ (hy) (cit)

  Old Armenian: ծիտ (cit)

• Catalan: pardal (ca) m
• Finnish: pikkulintu (fi)
• French: piaf (fr) m
• Galician: paxariño m
• Portuguese: passarinho (pt) m
• Spanish: pájaro (es) m
• Welsh: aderyn (cy) m

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

Translations to be checked

• Afrikaans: ^{(please verify)} mossie
• Albanian: ^{(please verify)} harabeli
• Alviri-Vidari: (Vidari): ^{(please verify)} گنگوشک (gangušk)
• Azerbaijani: ^{(please verify)} sərçə (az)
• Basque: ^{(please verify)} txolarre
• Belarusian: ^{(please verify)} верабе́й (be) m (vjerabjéj)
• Breton: ^{(please verify)} golvan (br)
• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} врабче́ (bg) n (vrabčé), ^{(please verify)} врабе́ц m (vrabéc)
• Chechen: ^{(please verify)} хьозий (ḥʳozii)
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} mus (nl) f, ^{(please verify)} huismus (nl) f
• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} pasero (eo)
• Estonian: ^{(please verify)} varblane (et)
• Friulian: ^{(please verify)} passare
• Galician: ^{(please verify)} pardal (gl), ^{(please verify)} gorrión (gl)
• Gallurese: ^{(please verify)} furfurinu, ^{(please verify)} fruffurarzu, ^{(please verify)} bulfurarju m
• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} spör (^{(please verify)} gráspör (is))
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} passere (ia)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} passero (it) m
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 참새 (ko) (chamsae)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} چۆلەکە (ckb) (çoleke), ^{(please verify)} پاساری (pasarî)

  Northern Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} beytik (ku)

• Ladin: ^{(please verify)} spoz
• Latgalian: ^{(please verify)} zvierbuļs m, ^{(please verify)} žeigurs m
• Latin: ^{(please verify)} passer (la)
• Latvian: ^{(please verify)} zvirbulis m
• Lithuanian: ^{(please verify)} žvirblis (lt) m, ^{(please verify)} žvirblė f
• Low German: ^{(please verify)} Lünink, ^{(please verify)} Lünk, ^{(please verify)} Lüüntje m, ^{(please verify)} Dackfink m
• Macedonian: ^{(please verify)} врабец m (vrabec)
• Maltese: ^{(please verify)} għasfur tal-bejt
• Mandarin:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 麻雀 (zh) (máquè)

• Mazanderani: میچکا (mičkâ)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ^{(please verify)} spurv (no) m, ^{(please verify)} gråspurv (no) m

• Occitan: ^{(please verify)} passerat (oc)
• Romani: ^{(please verify)} chirikloro m, ^{(please verify)} chirikliori f
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} vrabie (ro) f
• Sardinian: ^{(please verify)} crucculeu, ^{(please verify)} gruccùcciu m
• Sassarese: ^{(please verify)} furfurinu, ^{(please verify)} fruffurarzu, ^{(please verify)} bulfurarju m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ^{(please verify)} врабац m

  Roman: ^{(please verify)} vrabac (sh) m

• Slovene: ^{(please verify)} vrabec (sl) m
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} gorrión (es) m
• Swahili: ^{(please verify)} shomoro
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} sparv (sv) (^{(please verify)} gråsparv (sv))
• Taos: ^{(please verify)} pʼį́wna
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} serçe (tr)
• Vietnamese: ^{(please verify)} sẻ (vi), ^{(please verify)} chim sẻ
• West Frisian: ^{(please verify)} mosk (fy)

Further reading

• sparrow on Wikipedia.Wikipedia