sparra

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See also: sparrà and spärra

English

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Etymology

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Pronunciation spelling of sparrow, representing Cockney English.

Noun

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sparra (plural sparras)

  1. (London, chiefly Cockney) A sparrow.
    • 2008, Jon Wise, “Double trouble as soap won't wash”, in People:
      Jason dons a screwed-up accent that Madonna would be proud of. While Martine, loved for being a cockney sparra, unfortunately goes posh.
    • 1859, Samuel Carter Hall, The book of the Thames: from its rise to its fall, page 351:
      "Ah ! ah ! the fun was, one of the company said it was as like a sparra as one pea is like another; how I did laugh to myself, for she grew quite offended like, and insisted that this was a light brown bird, but that a sparra was next to black"

Anagrams

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Scots

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Alternative forms

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Noun

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sparra (plural sparras)

  1. sparrow

Swedish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English spar. First attested in 1924.[1]

English word of uncertain origin. Possibly derived from Old Norse sperrask (to kick out).[2] However, possibly instead derived from Middle French esparer (to kick), from old Italian sparare (to fling), from Latin exparare, from ex- + parare (to prepare).[3][4] See also English parry.

Verb

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sparra (present sparrar, preterite sparrade, supine sparrat, imperative sparra)

  1. To spar with someone (when training for boxing or martial arts).

Conjugation

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References

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  1. ^ sparra in Svensk ordbok (SO)
  2. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
  3. ^ spar”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
  4. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “spar”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

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