English sparrow
- noun
- /ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ ˈspɛroʊ/
- US
:
gorrión común
- In the moonlight, the peacocks that strutted across the lawn were no brighter than English sparrows, their brilliant colors fading to shades of gray in the dim light.
Examples
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Many people enjoy watching the English sparrow as it flits between buildings in urban areas.
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If all you have in the way of local birds are pigeons and English sparrows, though, you'd best wait until you can get farther out into God's own country.
Blog text (3) -
The English sparrow often gathers in flocks, chirping and searching for food in city parks.
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In our garden, the English sparrow is a regular visitor, often seen hopping around the bird feeders.
Synonyms
38
1.0
A small brown or gray bird that sings and lives near people
1
3.1
A small brown and grey bird that lives near people
A small brown and grey bird that lives near people worldwide
A small brown bird like a sparrow that lives in gardens
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'English' specifies origin/association and 'sparrow' names the bird, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer this refers to a sparrow associated with England. This is a common noun–modifier pattern cross-linguistically and does not require idiomatic knowledge beyond the constituent meanings.
Etymology
The name English sparrow comes from a simple fact: this small, brown-and-grey sparrow was very common in England and traveled with English sailors and settlers to other lands. People in those places began calling the bird the English sparrow, so the name stuck and now refers to the 'house sparrow' found in towns around the world.