parrot

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 parrocchetto. The relationship between these various words is disputed. Replaced earlier popinjay.

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

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• Rhymes: -æɹət
• Hyphenation: par‧rot

parrot (plural parrots)

1. A kind of bird, many species of which are colourful and able to mimic human speech, of the order Psittaciformes or (narrowly) of the family Psittacidae.

   I bought a wonderful parrot at the pet store.

   • 1857, Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, book 1, chapter 33

     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.

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

   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.
4. (geology, obsolete) Channel coal.

• For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:parrot.

• (kind of bird): popinjay, Psittaciformes, psittacine
• (person who repeats what was said): copycat, mimic, parroter
• (puffin): puffin, sea-parrot, tomnoddy
• (channel coal): channel coal

• (kind of bird): budgerigar, kakapo, 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.
   • 1996, Bill Clinton, Presidential Radio Address (15 June)

     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.

   The interviewee merely parroted the views of her tabloid.

• For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:parrot.

• (to repeat exactly): ape, copycat

• raptor