 The word is derived from the Latin term for parrots "psittaci" – which in turn derives from the Greek ψιττακός – in an analogy with the ability of some parrots to speak human words but without any knowledge of their meaning.Parrots, in turn, may be used as symbols of psittacism.In Flaubert's story "Un cœur simple" the parrot may have been used in this manner.