From Proto-Semitic *ṣapir- (“small bird”), from Proto-Afroasiatic *c̣ipar- (“small bird; guinea fowl”); variant form of صَافِر (ṣāfir, “small bird”), the عُـ (ʕu-) perhaps derives from a conflation with another closely related root Proto-Semitic *ʕVṣṣūr- (“bird”). Compare Hebrew ציפור (ṣippōr), Aramaic צִפְּרָא (ṣippərā), Ugaritic 𐎕𐎔𐎗 (ṣpr), and Akkadian 𒄷 (iṣṣūrum).