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sparrow

 - 4 dictionary results

spar⋅row

  [spar-oh]
–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.
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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. 2010.
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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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Word Origin & History

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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Bible Dictionary

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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