parrotlike









parrotlike


noun

  1. any of numerous hook-billed, often brilliantly colored birds of the order Psittaciformes, as the cockatoo, lory, macaw, or parakeet, having the ability to mimic speech and often kept as pets.
  2. a person who, without thought or understanding, merely repeats the words or imitates the actions of another.

verb (used with object)

  1. to repeat or imitate without thought or understanding.
  2. to teach to repeat or imitate in such a fashion.

noun

  1. any bird of the tropical and subtropical order Psittaciformes, having a short hooked bill, compact body, bright plumage, and an ability to mimic soundsRelated adjective: psittacine
  2. a person who repeats or imitates the words or actions of another unintelligently
  3. sick as a parrot usually facetious extremely disappointed

verb -rots, -roting or -roted

  1. (tr) to repeat or imitate mechanically without understanding

v.“repeat without understanding,” 1590s, from parrot (n.). Related: Parroted; parroting. n.1520s, of uncertain origin, perhaps from dialectal Middle French perrot, from a variant of Pierre “Peter;” or perhaps a dialectal form of perroquet (see parakeet). Replaced earlier popinjay. The German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt in South America in 1800 encountered a very old parrot that was the sole speaker of a dead Indian language, the original tribe having gone extinct.

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