sparra

See also: sparrà and spärra

English

Etymology

Pronunciation spelling of sparrow, representing Cockney English.

Noun

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"

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Scots

Alternative forms

Noun

sparra (plural sparras)

  1. sparrow

Swedish

Etymology

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

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

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

Conjugation
Conjugation of sparra (weak)
Active Passive
Infinitive sparra sparras
Supine sparrat sparrats
Imperative sparra —
Imper. plural1 sparren —
Present Past Present Past
Indicative sparrar sparrade sparras sparrades
Ind. plural1 sparra sparrade sparras sparrades
Subjunctive2 sparre sparrade sparres sparrades
Participles
Present participle sparrande
Past participle sparrad
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

References
  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.

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