What is "sparrow"

Sparrow \Spar"row\, n. [OE. sparwe, AS. spearwa; akin to OHG. sparo, G. sperling, Icel. sp["o]rr, Dan. spurv, spurre, Sw. sparf, Goth. sparwa; -- originally, probably, the quiverer or flutterer, and akin to E. spurn. See Spurn, and cf. Spavin.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) One of many species of small singing birds of the family Fringillig[ae], having conical bills, and feeding chiefly on seeds. Many sparrows are called also finches, and buntings. The common sparrow, or house sparrow, of Europe ( Passer domesticus) is noted for its familiarity, its voracity, its attachment to its young, and its fecundity. See House sparrow, under House.

   Note: The following American species are well known; the chipping sparrow, or chippy, the sage sparrow, the savanna sparrow, the song sparrow, the tree sparrow, and the white-throated sparrow (see Peabody bird). See these terms under Sage, Savanna, etc.

2. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of several small singing birds somewhat resembling the true sparrows in form or habits, as the European hedge sparrow. See under Hedge. He that doth the ravens feed, Yea, providently caters for the sparrow, Be comfort to my age! --Shak. Field sparrow, Fox sparrow, etc. See under Field, Fox, etc. Sparrow bill, a small nail; a castiron shoe nail; a sparable. Sparrow hawk. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. A small European hawk ( Accipiter nisus) or any of the allied species.

   2. A small American falcon ( Falco sparverius).

   3. The Australian collared sparrow hawk ( Accipiter torquatus).

      Note: The name is applied to other small hawks, as the European kestrel and the New Zealand quail hawk.

      Sparrow owl (Zo["o]l.), a small owl ( Glaucidium passerinum) found both in the Old World and the New. The name is also applied to other species of small owls.

      Sparrow spear (Zo["o]l.), the female of the reed bunting.

small brownish-gray bird (Passer domesticus), Old English spearwa, from Proto-Germanic *sparwan (cognates: Old Norse spörr, Old High German sparo, German Sperling, Gothic sparwa), from PIE *spor-wo-, from root *sper- (3), forming names of small birds (cognates: Cornish frau "crow;" Old Prussian spurglis "sparrow;" Greek spergoulos "small field bird," psar "starling"). In use, with qualifying words, of many small, sparrow-like birds. Sparrowfarts (1886) was Cheshire slang for "very early morning."

n. 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 (context UK chiefly London English) A quick-witted, lively person. Often used in the phrase ''cockney sparrow''.

1. n. any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects [syn: true sparrow]

2. small brownish European songbird [syn: hedge sparrow, dunnock, Prunella modularis]

Sparrow may refer to:

Another song with the same name, written by Graham Lyle and Benny Gallagher, was recorded by McGuinness Flint and Mary Hopkin in the early 1970s.

"Sparrow" is a 1978 jazz song recorded by singer Marvin Gaye issued on the singer's 1978 album, Here, My Dear album. The lyrics basically have a poetic and religious tone to them as Marvin calls a sparrow "to sing (his) beautiful song" to let him make sure that things are all right even when they aren't. In the song's climactic bridge, Gaye coos to the bird to sing to him personally before the bird flies away in hopes he can find inspiration.

Sparrow is an American poet, activist, musician, and rabble-rouser.

Sparrow is a 1993 Italian drama film directed by Franco Zeffirelli. It is an adaptation of Giovanni Verga's novel, Storia di una capinera and was filmed in Sicily in 1993. It stars Angela Bettis, and premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival in October 1993.

Sparrow was an email client for OS X and iOS. After a 4-month beta period, Sparrow went on sale in the Mac App Store on February 9, 2011 and became the top paid and top grossing app in less than one day. On July 20, 2012, the company announced that it had been acquired by Google and was ceasing continued development of the application except for critical bug fixes.

The Sparrow target missile is an Israeli medium-range air-launched ballistic missile produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The missile is currently used as a target missile to test the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system. The missile has a modular warhead section and is capable of carrying a high-explosive warhead.

Sparrows are a family of small passerine birds, Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, or Old World sparrows, names also used for a particular genus of the family, Passer. They are distinct from both the American sparrows, in the family Emberizidae, and from a few other birds sharing their name, such as the Java sparrow of the family Estrildidae. Many species nest on buildings, and the house and Eurasian tree sparrows in particular inhabit cities in large numbers, so sparrows are among the most familiar of all wild birds. They are primarily seed-eaters, though they also consume small insects. Some species scavenge for food around cities and, like gulls or rock doves, will happily eat virtually anything in small quantities.

Sparrow is a 2008 Hong Kong caper film produced and directed by Johnnie To. The film stars veteran Milkyway Image cast and crew alumni Simon Yam, Gordon Lam, Law Wing-cheung and Kenneth Cheung as a small gang of pickpockets, with each member being mysteriously approached by a beautiful Taiwanese woman ( Kelly Lin) with a hidden agenda.

Sparrow remained in pre-production for three years from 2005 to 2008, with To shooting the film in between other projects. The film was selected in competition at the 58th Berlin International Film Festival, premiering during the festival in February 2008. It was released in Hong Kong on 19 June 2008.

Sparrow is a 2010 Polish-British slasher horror film, directed by Shaun Troke, written by Matthew Mosley and Justin Di Febo, and produced by independent filmmaker Wojciech Stuchlik. The film stars Jack W. Carter, Alexis Jayne Defoe, Eric Kolelas, Sarah Linda, Thomas James Longley and Faye Sewell.

The story follows a group of friends on a weekend camping trip to a forest. Despite rumours that the area was the location of a set of gruesome murders, the friends ultimately decide to stay and enjoy their weekend. When strange things begin to happen to them, however, they realise it is too late to leave.

Sparrow was shot in Poland on a budget of just £20,000, with a primarily British cast. The film premiered in October 2010, and was shown at the American Film Market in November 2011. Sparrow was released on DVD in the U.S in 2013.

Sparrow is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Aaron Sparrow (born 1972), American football player
• Adolphus Sparrow (1869–1936), English cricketer
• Alexey Vorobyov (born 1988), also known as Alex Sparrow, Russian pop singer and musician
• Allan Sparrow (1944–2008), Canadian political activist
• Bobbie Sparrow (born 1935), former Canadian politician
• Brian Sparrow (born 1962), English association footballer
• Charles Sparrow (1808 – after 1852), fifth mayor of Bytown, Quebec
• David Sparrow (born 1962), Canadian actor
• Donald H. Sparrow, former Canadian politician
• Don Sparrow, Canadian illustrator
• Edward Sparrow (1810–1882), Confederate States of America politician
• Emory Sparrow (1898–1965), Canadian ice hockey player
• Ephraim M. Sparrow, American professor of Engineering
• Frank Sparrow (1926–2000), Australian rules footballer
• George Sparrow (1869 – after 1929), Australian rules footballer
• Guy Sparrow (disambiguation), multiple people
• Henry Sparrow (1889–1973), English footballer
• Herbert O. Sparrow (born 1930), Canadian politician
• Jeff Sparrow, Australian writer
• Jill Sparrow (born 1971), Australian activist
• John Hanbury Angus Sparrow (1906–1992), English academic and barrister
• Matt Sparrow (born 1981), English footballer
• Mighty Sparrow (born Slinger Francisco 1935), West Indian calypso singer
• Pater Sparrow, Hungarian filmmaker
• Paul Sparrow (born 1975), English association footballer
• Rajinder Singh Sparrow (1911-1994) a decorated Indian Army officer
• Rory Sparrow (born 1958), retired American basketball player
• Walter Sparrow (1927–2000), British film and television actor
• Walter Shaw Sparrow (1862–1940), British writer on art and architecture