Etymograph

English

passeriform

Passeriform comes from Latin passer ‘sparrow’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpasser1‘sparrow’
  2. Englishtodaypasseriform1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English passeriform

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpasserWiktionary, English passeriform‘sparrow’
  2. EnglishtodaypasseriformWiktionary, English passeriform

Formed from iform

The story

Borrowed from translingual Passeriformes in the taxonomic sense.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to fly’

mile, repeat, expansion, compete, pen, petition, expand, patent, helicopter, passage, competitor, symptom, feather, perpetual, compass, impetus, spawn, perpetuate, expanse, pennant, perpetuity, petulant, trespass, pinion, impetuous, patina, passable, patella, pata, penna, petulance, 79 more

Today it means

adj Of or pertaining to a sparrow; sparrow-like; bird-like.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “passeriform”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin passer / passeriform

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