passereau

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French passerel, from Latin passer + French suffix -eau. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *p(e)t-tro- (“who flies, bird”), from *peth₂- (“to fly”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa.sʁo/

• Audio

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Noun

passereau m (plural passereaux)

1. sparrow
   • 1846, Phaedrus, Fables, sourced from [1]:

     Déchiré par les serres d’un Aigle, un Lièvre poussait de longs gémissements. Un Passereau l’insultait

     A Sparrow upbraided a Hare that had been pounced upon by an Eagle, and was sending forth piercing cries.

2. passerine

Further reading

• “passereau”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.