Pigeon
late Middle English: from Old French pijon, denoting a young bird, especially a young dove, from an alteration of late Latin pipio(n- ), ‘young cheeping bird’ of imitative origin.
wiktionary
From Middle English pygeoun, pygyne, pegyon, from Old French pijon, pyjon, from Late Latin pīpiōnem(“chirping bird”), accusative singular of Latin pīpiō(“chirping bird”), from pīpiō(“to chirp”).
From pidgin English, from a Chinese Pidgin English pronunciation of English business during trade in the Far East. See pidgin.
etymonline
pigeon (n.)
late 14c., pijoun, "a dove, a young dove" (early 13c. as a surname), from Old French pijon, pigeon "young dove" (13c.), probably from Vulgar Latin *pibionem, dissimilation from Late Latin pipionem (nominative pipio) "squab, young chirping bird" (3c.), from pipire "to peep, chirp," a word of imitative origin. As an English word it replaced culver (Old English culufre, from Vulgar Latin *columbra, from Latin columbula) and native dove (n.).
The meaning "one easily duped, a simpleton to be swindled" is from 1590s (compare gull (n.2)). Pigeon-hearted (1620s) and pigeon-livered (c. 1600) are "timid, easily frightened." A pigeon-pair (by 1800) are twins of the opposite sex (or family consisting of a boy and a girl only), so called because pigeons lay two eggs, normally hatching a male and a female.
