magpie

See also: Magpie

English

North American black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia)
Australian magpie, Gymnorhina tibicen

Etymology

From Mag, a nickname for Margaret that was used to denote a chatterer, and pie, an archaic word meaning "magpie", from Old French pie, from Latin pīca, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peyk- (“woodpecker, magpie”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmæɡˌpaɪ/
  • Hyphenation: mag‧pie

Noun

magpie (plural magpies)

  1. One of several kinds of bird in the family Corvidae
    1. especially Pica pica.
  2. A superficially similar Australian bird, Gymnorhina tibicen or Cracticus tibicen.
  3. Someone who displays a magpie-like quality such as collecting, or committing robbery.
  4. (slang) Fan or member of Newcastle United F.C.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

Translations

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