cockatiel

American

[kok-uh-teel] / ˌkɒk əˈtil /

Or cockateel

noun

a small, crested, long-tailed Australian parrot, Nymphicus hollandicus, often kept as a pet.

cockatiel British

/ ˌkɒkəˈtiːl /

noun

a crested Australian parrot, Leptolophus hollandicus, having a greyish-brown and yellow plumage

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cockatiel

1875–80; < Dutch kaketielje, < Portuguese cacatilha, equivalent to cacat ( ua ) cockatoo + -ilha < Latin -illa diminutive suffix

Compare meaning

How does cockatiel compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

cockatoo vs. cockatiel

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023