parrot
[par-uh t]
- any of numerous hook-billed, often brilliantly colored birds of the order Psittaciformes, as the cockatoo, lory, macaw, or parakeet, having the ability to mimic speech and often kept as pets.
- a person who, without thought or understanding, merely repeats the words or imitates the actions of another.
- to repeat or imitate without thought or understanding.
- to teach to repeat or imitate in such a fashion.
Origin of parrot
1515–25; apparently < Middle French P(i)errot, diminutive of Pierre (see parakeet), though a comparable sense of the French word is not known until the 18th century
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for parrot
Contemporary Examples
Oliver bares his soul as he highlights comments in which he is compared to a parrot and knocked for mocking an unremarkable soda.
Finally the guy gets fed up and throws the parrot in the freezer to punish him.
There's the parrot, wings wrapped around himself, shivering.
Rudoren is a journalist for the New York Times and has a responsibility to evaluate rather than parrot.
With four other children, two more dogs, a parrot, and a cat back on the island, I was desperate to get home.
Historical Examples
But I cal'late there was a parrot and monkey time among the help from then on.
The Depot MasterJoseph C. Lincoln
This feller's got what ailed the parrot—he talks too darn much.
ShavingsJoseph C. Lincoln
Polly was prattling like a parrot, but Glory was silent and almost sad.
The ChristianHall Caine
In one of them there stood a golden cage, and in it was a Parrot.
She was sorry to part with her parrot, but after all it was only a bird.
parrot
- any bird of the tropical and subtropical order Psittaciformes, having a short hooked bill, compact body, bright plumage, and an ability to mimic soundsRelated adjective: psittacine
- a person who repeats or imitates the words or actions of another unintelligently
- sick as a parrot usually facetious extremely disappointed
- (tr) to repeat or imitate mechanically without understanding
Word Origin
C16: probably from French paroquet; see parakeet
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for parrot
n.
1520s, of uncertain origin, perhaps from dialectal Middle French perrot, from a variant of Pierre "Peter;" or perhaps a dialectal form of perroquet (see parakeet). Replaced earlier popinjay. The German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt in South America in 1800 encountered a very old parrot that was the sole speaker of a dead Indian language, the original tribe having gone extinct.
v.
"repeat without understanding," 1590s, from parrot (n.). Related: Parroted; parroting.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper