sparrow
/ˈsparəʊ
/noun
1A small finch-like Old World bird related to the weaver birds, typically with brown and grey plumage.
- Family Passeridae (or Ploceidae): four genera, in particular Passer, and many species, e.g. the cosmopolitan house sparrow (P. domesticus).
- Smaller birds such as pigeons, thrushes, jackdaws, robins and sparrows would also have been seen on a regular basis.
- While we don't have tall trees, our neighbors do, and the firs and oaks that surround our property drop acorns and provide homes for jays, woodpeckers, robins and sparrows.
2 [usually with modifier] Any of a number of birds that resemble true sparrows in size or colour:
- An American bunting (many genera in the subfamily Emberizinae, family Emberizidae). A waxbill, in particular the Java sparrow. see hedge sparrow.
Origin
Old English spearwa, of Germanic origin.