Meanings
plural cockatiels · alternative obsolete cockateel
- Nymphicus hollandicus, a small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest, native to Australia. Avicultural forms come in many color mutations such as White Face Gray, White Face Pearl, Fallow, Pearl Pied, Cinnamon Pearl, and White Face Pied.
The smaller parrakeets, such as budgerigars, turquoisines, and love birds, delight In going in and out of the cocoa nuts, but I never saw a cockatiel enter one, nor do I see how they could do so without detriment to their long tails.
1871, Norfolk (pseudonym), “Cockatiels”, in The Exchange and Mart, volume 4, number 139, page 481
Synonyms & antonyms
nounNymphicus hollandicus, a small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest, native to Australia. Avicultural forms come in many color mutations such as White Face Gray, White Face Pearl, Fallow, Pearl Pied, Cinnamon Pearl, and White Face Pied.
More synonyms by meaning
nounsmall grey Australian parrot with a yellow crested head
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Portuguesecacatua“cockatoo”
- Dutchkaketielje
- Englishcockatiel
From Dutch kaketielje, possibly a diminutive of kaketoe (“cockatoo”) or derived in Dutch from a diminutive of Portuguese cacatua (“cockatoo”) such as cacatilho or cacatelho. Attested in English since the mid nineteenth century.
More words from Dutch, Portuguese
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans kokketiel
- kokketiela small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Arabic كُوكَاتِيل
- كُوكَاتِيل (kūkātīl)a small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Czech korela
- korelaa small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Danish nymfeparakit
- nymfeparakita small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Dutch valkparkiet
- valkparkieta small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Esperanto nimfiko
- nimfikoa small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Finnish neitokakadu
- neitokakadua small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
French calopsitte
- calopsittea small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
German Nymphensittich
- Nymphensitticha small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Hungarian nimfapapagáj
- nimfapapagája small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Italian calopsitta
- calopsittaa small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Japanese オカメインコ
- オカメインコ (okameinko)a small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Polish nimfa
- nimfaa small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Portuguese caturra, calopsita
- caturraa small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
- calopsitaa small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Russian коре́лла
- коре́лла (korɛ́lla)a small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Spanish cacatúa ninfa, ninfa
- cacatúa ninfaa small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
- ninfaa small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
- carolinaa small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Swedish nymfparakit, nymfkakadua
- nymfparakita small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
- nymfkakaduaa small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Turkish sultan papağanı
- sultan papağanıa small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Welsh parot copog, cocatîl
- parot copoga small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
- cocatîla small, rather atypical cockatoo with a distinctive pointed yellow crest
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with cockatiel
Cite this entry
cockatiel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cockatiel
“cockatiel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cockatiel. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cockatiel,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cockatiel.
Source: cockatiel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.