magpie

== English == === Etymology === From Mag, a nickname for Margaret that was used to denote a chatterer, + archaic pie (“magpie”), from Middle English pie, pye, from Old French pie, from Latin pīca, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peyk- (“woodpecker, magpie”). Displaced native Old English agu (“magpie”) and Middle English aguster (“magpie”), whence English haggister. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈmæɡˌpaɪ/ Hyphenation: mag‧pie === Noun === magpie (plural magpies) One of several kinds of bird in the family Corvidae, especially Pica pica. Synonyms: (dialectal) haggister, maggie, Eurasian magpie, European magpie, common magpie, (obsolete) pica, (regional) pie, piet A superficially similar Australian bird, Gymnorhina tibicen, in the family Artamidae. (figurative) Someone who displays a magpie-like quality such as hoarding or stealing objects. (slang) A fan or member of Newcastle United F.C. (UK, firearms) In the sport of fullbore target rifle, the third circle on a target, between the inner and outer. (UK, slang, obsolete) A halfpenny. (attributively) A pattern resembling the pied plumage of a magpie. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Verb === magpie (third-person singular simple present magpies, present participle magpieing, simple past and past participle magpied) (transitive) To mark with patches of black and white or light and dark. Synonym: mottle (ambitransitive) To steal or hoard (items) as magpies are believed to do. (intransitive) To talk idly; to talk about other people's private business. Synonyms: chatter, gossip === Further reading === magpie on Wikipedia.Wikipedia