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parrot

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "parrot", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "parrot" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "parrot" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

parrot is aEnglishnoun. It means: A kind of bird, many species of which are colorful and able to mimic human speech, of the order Psittaciformes or (narrowly) of the family Psittacidae. Pronounced /ˈpæɹət/. Often confused with part and Prot.

Key facts for parrot
PropertyValue
Headwordparrot
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpæɹət/
Letters6
Frequency rank#15,240
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of parrot in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for parrot is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpæɹət/. Corpus data places it at rank #15,240 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 7 documented wrong-spelling variants for parrot, with forms such as "aprrot", "parort", and "parot". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "part", "Prot", "parry", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1525. From Middle French perrot, either a diminutive of Pierre or a shortened form of perroquet (whence also parakeet). Compare French pierrot and Occitan parrat. A number of origins have been suggested for perroquet, such as Spanish periq… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is parrot, spelled P-A-R-R-O-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A kind of bird, many species of which are colorful and able to mimic human speech, of the order Psittaciformes or (narrowly) of the family Psittacidae.
  2. 2
    A parroter; a person who repeats the words or ideas of others.
  3. 3
    A puffin.
  4. 4
    channel coal.
  5. 5
    A transponder.

Etymology

First attested in 1525. From Middle French perrot, either a diminutive of Pierre or a shortened form of perroquet (whence also parakeet). Compare French pierrot and Occitan parrat. A number of origins have been suggested for perroquet, such as Spanish periquito and Italian parrocchetto. The relationship between these various words is disputed. Replaced earlier popinjay.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: aprrot,parort,parot,parrott,parrto,pparrot,prarot

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for parrot

Misspelling Variants of "parrot"

aprrot6parort6parot5parrott7parrto6pparrot7prarot6
Misspelling Variants of "parrot"

Frequency rank: #15,240 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "parrot"?
"parrot" is spelled P-A-R-R-O-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpæɹət/.
What does "parrot" mean?
As a noun, "parrot" means: A kind of bird, many species of which are colorful and able to mimic human speech, of the order Psittaciformes or (narrowly) of the family Psittacidae.
What words are commonly confused with "parrot"?
"parrot" is commonly confused with "part", "Prot", "parry". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "parrot"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "parrot" is /ˈpæɹət/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "parrot"?
First attested in 1525. From Middle French perrot, either a diminutive of Pierre or a shortened form of perroquet (whence also parakeet). Compare French pierrot and Occitan parrat. A number of origins have been suggested for perroquet, such as Spa... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter P in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.