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Where does the word "parrot" come from? It comes from Old French Perrot, passing through Old French before entering English (1500s).
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Where does the word "parrot" come from? It comes from Old French Perrot, passing through Old French before entering English (1500s).
Parrot’s story begins in Old French: Perrot meant “little Pierre.” A pet form of the name Pierre, possibly given to the talking bird. Within Old French, it grew into perroquet by medieval. Parrots imported from Africa and Asia were exotic pets. It reached English by 1500s as parrot. 'parrot' meaning to repeat mindlessly dates from the 1500s. Today, parrot means a colourful tropical bird that can mimic speech.
- Stage 1 · Old French · medieval Perrot "little Pierre", a pet form of the name Pierre, possibly given to the talking bird.
- Stage 2 · Old French · medieval perroquet "parrot", parrots imported from Africa and Asia were exotic pets.
- Stage 3 · English · 1500s parrot "parrot", 'parrot' meaning to repeat mindlessly dates from the 1500s.