sparrow

Etymology

From Middle English sparwe, sparowe, from Old English spearwa, from Proto-West Germanic *sparwō, from Proto-Germanic *sparwô, from Proto-Indo-European *spḗr (“sparrow”). Cognate with Dutch spreeuw (“starling”), Alemannic German Spar (“sparrow”), German Sperling (“sparrow”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål spurv (“sparrow”), Norwegian Nynorsk sporv (“sparrow”), Swedish sparv (“sparrow”), Breton frao (“crow”), Tocharian A spārāñ, Ancient Greek ψάρ (psár, “starling”).

noun

1. The house sparrow, Passer domesticus; a small bird with a short bill, and brown, white and gray feathers.
2. A member of the family Passeridae, comprising small Old World songbirds.
3. A member of the family Emberizidae, comprising small New World songbirds.
4. Generically, any small, nondescript bird.
5. (UK, chiefly London) A quick-witted, lively person.
   cockney sparrow
   I take it there 's scarcely a happier fellow alive than your honest town-bred smoke-dried cockney sparrow. 1878, Charles Henry Ross, Ally Sloper's guide to the Paris exhibition, page 54
   Professional cockney sparrow Martine has acted since childhood. 2005, Drama Faces: Martine McCutcheon, BBC