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Someone asked me to find the word that is a subset of sycophancy. He said the word describes a particular sort of sycophant who lacks originality and repeats something said by the object of his worship which merely paraphrases the speaker's comment in an effort to be original.

What is the word?

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  • I doubt such a word exists. I think it is quite likely the person had in mind a particular word that doesn't quite mean what the person thought it meant. See if the person maybe meant one of the synonyms of follower listed here.
    – linguisticturn
    Commented Aug 4, 2021 at 19:50
  • Nevertheless, I would like this opportunity to mention epigone; again, not quite right, as it is used mostly in art and philosophy and also an epigone need not necessarily be a sycophant. But, again, I don't think any word fits 100%. An example of usage: I am thinking of the glib prattle and knowing weariness of American academic Marxists, for instance, or the pronouncements upon "analytical philosophy" made by American sycophants and epigones of French literary theory who are...
    – linguisticturn
    Commented Aug 4, 2021 at 19:52
  • Are you looking for a slang term, a common language term, or a term originating from the field of psychology? Also, please note that single word requests here on ELU should include a sample sentence that uses a blank space to represent the word, with the intention of clarifying the desired context. These things help us provide suggestions more relevant to your use case.
    – R Mac
    Commented Aug 4, 2021 at 23:20

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A parrot

a person who repeats or imitates the words or actions of another unintelligently; a person who mechanically repeats the words or acts of others, usually without full understanding (Collins)

You would be surprised how often you can find this word in the Hansard:

  • In his intervention the Minister sounded like a parrot mouthing the words of Mr Peterken. However, perhaps Mr. Peterken is the parrot repeating the Minister's words. (House of Commons, 13 March 1990)
  • There is no point in the Minister repeating like a parrot, " It's wrong: " It is not wrong. (House of Commons, 16 January 2002)
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  • Probably as close as we are likely to get. However, a parrot need not be a sycophant, as evidenced in dictionary definitions. For completeness, here is Merriam-Webster's: a person who sedulously echoes another's words (here sedulous means 'involving or accomplished with careful perseverance' or 'diligent in application or pursuit'). And the OED says 'A person regarded as resembling a parrot in some way, esp. one who repeats the words or ideas of others mindlessly, mechanically, or without understanding.' Again, no sycophancy is implied.
    – linguisticturn
    Commented Aug 4, 2021 at 20:03
  • @linguisticturn: toady parrot, maybe.
    – Tinfoil Hat
    Commented Aug 5, 2021 at 4:43
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I was going to say parrot as well. It most accurately connotes that the person not only copies what someone says, but that they're also sycophantic. Alternatively (but not as accurate):

An aper, or a copycat.

a person who adopts the appearance or behavior of another especially in an obvious way (MW)

These often imply that the copier doesn't have original ideas.

Here's another one (that's to a far greater extent general):

Echo

  1. a person who reflects or imitates another (Dictionary)
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