varpunen

Borrowed from Old East Slavic [Term?] (compare Russian воробей (vorobej)); nativized with the diminutive -nen suffix.

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋɑrpunen/, [ˈʋɑrpune̞n]
• Rhymes: -ɑrpunen
• Syllabification^(key): var‧pu‧nen

varpunen

1. sparrow
   • 1913, Zacharius Topelius (original poem in Swedish, 1859), K. A. Waaranen (Finnish translation, 1874), Otto Kotilainen (composer), “Varpunen jouluaamuna [A Sparrow on Christmas Morning]”‎:

     Lumi on jo peittänyt kukat laaksosessa,
     järven aalto jäätynyt talvipakkasessa.
     Varpunen pienoinen, syönyt kesäeinehen,
     järven aalto jäätynyt talvipakkasessa.

     Snow has fallen, through it pokes not a single heather,
     waves of water turned to ice by the wintry weather.
     A sparrow so little with nothing to eat and live,
     waves of water turned to ice by the wintry weather.

     (literally, “The snow has already covered the flowers in the dale,
     the waves of the lake have been frozen by the cold winter weather.
     A tiny sparrow has eaten the (last of its) summer food,
     the waves of the lake have been frozen by the cold winter weather.”)

2. (as modifier in compound terms) passerine, sparrow

   varpuslintu ― passerine bird

   varpushaukka ― sparrow hawk