'parrotish' originates from English, specifically the noun 'parrot' combined with the suffix '-ish', where '-ish' meant 'having the nature of' or 'related to'.

'parrot' entered English via Middle French 'perroquet' (or Old French 'peroquet'), itself from earlier Spanish forms such as 'perico'/'periquet' and ultimately influenced by Latin/Greek 'psittacus' (Greek 'psittakos'); the suffix '-ish' comes from Old English/West Germanic '-isc'. These elements combined in English to form 'parrotish'.

Initially it denoted 'of or relating to a parrot (parrot-like)'; over time it also acquired a figurative sense of 'imitative or mechanically repetitive', which is common in modern usage.