parrot

What it means

1. A kind of bird, many species of which are colorful 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.

   2 more examples

   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.

   1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, “Mrs. Merdle’s Complaint”, in Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC, 1st book (Poverty), page 290

   This parrot is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to see its maker. This is a late parrot. It's a stiff. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. If you hadn't nailed it to the perch it would be pushing up the daisies. It's run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-parrot.

   1969 December 7, “Full Frontal Nudity”, in Monty Python's Flying Circus, season 1, episode 8, spoken by Mr Praline (John Cleese), Dead Parrot sketch

   Synonyms: psittacine, popinjay

2. figurativelyA parroter; a person who repeats the words or ideas of others.

   What kind of a parrot are you? He just said that.

   1 more example

   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.

   1837, Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American Scholar

   Synonyms: copycat, mimic

3. archaicA puffin.

   Synonyms: sea-parrot, tomnoddy

In a sentence

I bought a wonderful parrot at the pet store.

Where it comes from

1. Middle Frenchperrot
2. Englishparrot

First attested in 1525. From Middle French perrot, either a diminutive of Pierre or a shortened form of perroquet (whence also parakeet). 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.