Pronounced: AS-uh-rate, adj
Notes: I don’t think I’ve every run across this useful word
Yesterday’s word
The word psittacism means “chattering; parroting or mimicking; mechanical, repetitive, and meaningless speech”
First usage
This word came into English in the late 1800s
Background / Comments
When I read the definition, a memory kicked in – a memory of a parrot disease called psittacosis. Also, the initial “ps” reminded me of the Greek letter psi. Sure enough, our word came from the Latin word psittacus (parrot)… and the Latin word came from the Greek word psittakós (parrot). Thus, talk that is parrot-like is the meaning of our word.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 