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Sparrow - 5 dictionary results

spar⋅row

  [spar-oh]
Use Sparrow in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of numerous American finches of the family Emberizinae. Compare chipping sparrow, song sparrow.
2. any member of the Old World genus Passer, formerly thought to be closely related to the weaverbirds but now placed in their own family, Passeridae.
3. British. the house sparrow.
4. any of several other unrelated small birds. Compare Java sparrow, hedge sparrow.
5. (initial capital letter) Military. a 12-ft. (4-m), all-weather, radar-guided U.S. air-to-air missile with an 88-lb. (40-kg) high-explosive warhead.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME sparowe, OE spearwa; c. Goth sparwa, ON spǫrr

Related forms:
spar⋅row⋅less, adjective
spar⋅row⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Sparrow
spar·row   (spār'ō)   
n.  
  1. Any of various small New World finches of the family Emberizidae, having brownish or grayish plumage and including the song sparrow, white-throated sparrow, chipping sparrow, vesper sparrow, and other closely related species.
  2. Any of various birds of the family Passeridae, especially the house sparrow.
  3. Any of various similar or related birds, such as the Java sparrow.

[Middle English sparowe, from Old English spearwa.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Sparrow

Spar"row\, n. [OE. sparwe, AS. spearwa; akin to OHG. sparo, G. sperling, Icel. sp["o]rr, Dan. spurv, spurre, Sw. sparf, Goth. sparwa; -- originally, probably, the quiverer or flutterer, and akin to E. spurn. See Spurn, and cf. Spavin.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) One of many species of small singing birds of the family Fringillig[ae], having conical bills, and feeding chiefly on seeds. Many sparrows are called also finches, and buntings. The common sparrow, or house sparrow, of Europe (Passer domesticus) is noted for its familiarity, its voracity, its attachment to its young, and its fecundity. See House sparrow, under House.

Note: The following American species are well known; the chipping sparrow, or chippy, the sage sparrow, the savanna sparrow, the song sparrow, the tree sparrow, and the white-throated sparrow (see Peabody bird). See these terms under Sage, Savanna, etc.

2. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of several small singing birds somewhat resembling the true sparrows in form or habits, as the European hedge sparrow. See under Hedge.

He that doth the ravens feed, Yea, providently caters for the sparrow, Be comfort to my age! --Shak.

Field sparrow, Fox sparrow, etc. See under Field, Fox, etc.

Sparrow bill, a small nail; a castiron shoe nail; a sparable.

Sparrow hawk. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A small European hawk (Accipiter nisus) or any of the allied species. (b) A small American falcon (Falco sparverius). (c) The Australian collared sparrow hawk (Accipiter torquatus).

Note: The name is applied to other small hawks, as the European kestrel and the New Zealand quail hawk.

Sparrow owl (Zo["o]l.), a small owl (Glaucidium passerinum) found both in the Old World and the New. The name is also applied to other species of small owls.

Sparrow spear (Zo["o]l.), the female of the reed bunting. [Prov. Eng.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Sparrow
Spanish: gorrión,
German: der Spatz,
Japanese: 雀
More Translations »

sparrow 
small brownish-gray bird, O.E. spearwa, from P.Gmc. *sparwan (cf. O.N. spörr, O.H.G. sparo, Ger. Sperling, Goth. sparwa), from PIE *sper- (cf. Cornish frau "crow;" O.Prus. spurglis "sparrow;" Gk. spergoulos "small field bird," psar "starling"). Sparrowhawk is attested from c.1400. Sparrowfarts (1886) was Cheshire slang for "very early morning."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Sparrow

Mentioned among the offerings made by the very poor. Two sparrows were sold for a farthing (Matt. 10:29), and five for two farthings (Luke 12:6). The Hebrew word thus rendered is _tsippor_, which properly denotes the whole family of small birds which feed on grain (Lev. 14:4; Ps. 84:3; 102:7). The Greek word of the New Testament is _strouthion_ (Matt. 10:29-31), which is thus correctly rendered.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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