Standard Lemma guide

macaw

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /məˈkɔː/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /məˈkɑ/
  • US: /məˈkɔ/
  • rhymes with -ɔː
  • CMU ARPABET: M AH0 K AO1 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any of various parrots of the genera Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Orthopsittaca, Primolius and Diopsittaca of Central and South America, including the largest parrots and characterized by long sabre-shaped tails, curved powerful bills, and usually brilliant plumage.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

long-tailed brilliantly colored parrot of Central America and South America; among the largest and showiest of parrots

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: parrot

History

Etymology

From Portuguese macau, of unknown origin. English sources point to Nheengatu makawana, which is only attested from the 20th century onwards.

Across languages

Translations

45 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: ara pappegaai — various parrots
  • Asturian: guacamayu — various parrots
  • Basque: guakamaio — various parrots
  • Bulgarian: ара (ara) — various parrots
  • Catalan: guacamai — various parrots
  • Chamicuro: s̈halyota — various parrots
  • Chinese Mandarin: 金剛鸚鵡 /金刚鹦鹉 (jīngāng yīngwǔ) — various parrots
  • Chinese Mandarin: 𪄳鷎 /鿺𬸢 (mài'áo) — various parrots
  • Czech: ara — various parrots
  • Danish: ara — various parrots
  • Dutch: ara — various parrots
  • Esperanto: arao — various parrots
  • Finnish: ara — various parrots
  • French: ara — various parrots
  • German: Ara — various parrots
  • Greek: μακάο (makáo) — various parrots
  • Hindi: मैकौ (maikau) — various parrots
  • Hungarian: arapapagáj — various parrots
  • Hungarian: ara — various parrots
  • Irish: macá — various parrots
  • Italian: ara — various parrots
  • Japanese: 金剛鸚哥 (kongōinko) — various parrots
  • Kaiwá: gwa'a — various parrots
  • Macedonian: а́ра (ára) — various parrots
  • Mam: mo’ — various parrots
  • Norwegian: ara — various parrots
  • Norwegian: ara papegøye — various parrots
  • Old Tupi: arara — various parrots
  • Persian: مکائو (makâ'o) — various parrots
  • Pirahã: kaaxai — various parrots
  • Polish: ara — various parrots
  • Portuguese: arara — various parrots
  • Romanian: ara — various parrots
  • Russian: а́ра (ára) — various parrots
  • Slovak: ara — various parrots
  • Spanish: guacamaya — various parrots
  • Spanish: guacamayo — various parrots
  • Spanish: guara — various parrots
  • Spanish: lapa — various parrots
  • Spanish: papagayo — various parrots
  • Spanish: paraba — various parrots
  • Swedish: ara — various parrots
  • Swedish: arapapegoja — various parrots
  • Turkish: ara — various parrots
  • Welsh: macaw — various parrots