parrot

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.

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: părʹət, IPA^(key): /ˈpæɹət/
• (General American) enPR: părʹət, IPA^(key): /ˈpæɹət/, /ˈpɛɹət/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

  (Mary–marry–merry merger)
• Rhymes: -æɹət
• Hyphenation: par‧rot

parrot (plural parrots)

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.

   Synonyms: (bird of the order Psittaciformes) psittacine, popinjay

   I bought a wonderful parrot at the pet store.

   • 1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, “Mrs. Merdle’s Complaint”, in Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC, book the first (Poverty), page 290:

     Mrs. Merdle was at home, and was in her nest of crimson and gold, with the parrot on a neighbouring stem watching her with his head on one side, as if he took her for another splendid parrot of a larger species.

   • 1969 December 7, “Full Frontal Nudity”, in Monty Python's Flying Circus‎, season 1, episode 8, spoken by Mr Praline (John Cleese), Dead Parrot sketch:

     This parrot is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to see its maker. This is a late parrot. It's a stiff. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. If you hadn't nailed it to the perch it would be pushing up the daisies. It's run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-parrot.

2. (figurative) A parroter; a person who repeats the words or ideas of others.

   Synonyms: copycat, mimic

   What kind of a parrot are you? He just said that.

   • 1837, Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American Scholar:

     In this distribution of functions, the scholar is the delegated intellect. In the right state, he is, Man Thinking. In the degenerate state, when the victim of society, he tends to become a mere thinker, or, still worse, the parrot of other men’s thinking.

3. (archaic) A puffin.

   Synonyms: sea-parrot, tomnoddy

4. (geology, obsolete) channel coal.
5. (aviation, slang) A transponder.

• (kind of bird): budgerigar, cockatiel, cockatoo, corella, galah, kakapo, kea, lorikeet, lory, lovebird, macaw, parakeet, rosella

• Polly
• popinjay
• Dead Parrot
• who's a pretty boy then

parrot (third-person singular simple present parrots, present participle parroting, simple past and past participle parroted or parrotted)

1. (transitive) To repeat (exactly what has just been said) without necessarily showing understanding, in the manner of a parrot.

   The interviewee merely parroted the views of her tabloid.

   • 1996 June 15, Bill Clinton, Presidential Radio Address:

     So when political leaders parrot the tobacco company line, say cigarettes are not necessarily addictive, and oppose our efforts to keep tobacco away from our children, they continue to cater to powerful interests, but they're not standing up for parents and children.

   • 1999 January, Larry Cunningham, “Taking on Testilying”, in Criminal Justice Ethics, volume 18, →DOI, pages 26–40:

     While interviewing officers, some prosecutors will tell them what the law will require that he, the prosecutor, establish through his witnesses. The officer-witness will then parrot back those requirements, making his testimony fit the requirements of the law.

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:parrot.

• (to repeat exactly): ape, copycat

• raptor