*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Bird

* As an English and Scottish surname, from the noun bird. * As an Irish surname, Anglicized/translated from several names erroneously thought to contain the element éan (“bird”) such as Ó hÉinigh (see Heagney), Ó hÉanna

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
name

A surname. · Nickname of Charlie Parker (1920–1955), jazz saxophonist.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

* As an English and Scottish surname, from the noun bird. * As an Irish surname, Anglicized/translated from several names erroneously thought to contain the element éan (“bird”) such as Ó hÉinigh (see Heagney), Ó hÉanna (see Heaney), Ó hÉanacháin (see Heneghan) and Mac an Déaghanaigh (see McEneaney). * Similarly translated from several other languages containing the word bird, such as German Vogel, French Loiseau, Czech Ptáček see Ptacek), Pták, Polish Ptak. * This also extends to Native American names, such as Lakota ziŋtkala (“bird”). Compare Eagle, Hawk; Blackbird, Kingbird, Redbird, etc.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Vogel"
      },
      "expansion": "German Vogel"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "Loiseau"
      },
      "expansion": "French Loiseau"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cs",
        "2": "Ptáček"
      },
      "expansion": "Czech Ptáček"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "pl",
        "2": "Ptak"
      },
      "expansion": "Polish Ptak"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lkt",
        "2": "ziŋtkala",
        "t": "bird"
      },
      "expansion": "Lakota ziŋtkala (“bird”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "bird",
      "bird#English"
    ],
    [
      "éan",
      "éan#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "Ó hÉinigh",
      "Ó hÉinigh#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "Heagney",
      "Heagney#English"
    ],
    [
      "Ó hÉanna",
      "Ó hÉanna#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "Heaney",
      "Heaney#English"
    ],
    [
      "Ó hÉanacháin",
      "Ó hÉanacháin#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "Heneghan",
      "Heneghan#English"
    ],
    [
      "Mac an Déaghanaigh",
      "Mac an Déaghanaigh#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "McEneaney",
      "McEneaney#English"
    ],
    [
      "Vogel",
      "Vogel#German"
    ],
    [
      "Loiseau",
      "Loiseau#French"
    ],
    [
      "Ptáček",
      "Ptáček#Czech"
    ],
    [
      "Ptacek",
      "Ptacek#English"
    ],
    [
      "Pták",
      "Pták#Czech"
    ],
    [
      "Ptak",
      "Ptak#Polish"
    ],
    [
      "ziŋtkala",
      "ziŋtkala#Lakota"
    ],
    [
      "Eagle",
      "Eagle#English"
    ],
    [
      "Hawk",
      "Hawk#English"
    ],
    [
      "Blackbird",
      "Blackbird#English"
    ],
    [
      "Kingbird",
      "Kingbird#English"
    ],
    [
      "Redbird",
      "Redbird#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname.",
        "Nickname of Charlie Parker (1920–1955), jazz saxophonist."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "f9845ac2a0086ee08a3dcd4b22a05994404d8b97891e138943045df660e05e40",
      "rawRecordSha256": "4dd0035bee1d0895acb70450be10e5f05d7a3f9e7cb18d41ad3d838b745ff71e",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4306527
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Bird →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-QmlyZA