magpie

[mag-pahy]

noun

1. either of two corvine birds, Pica pica black-billed magpie, of Eurasia and North America, or P. nuttalli yellow-billed magpie, of California, having long, graduated tails, black-and-white plumage, and noisy, mischievous habits.

2. any of several related corvine birds.

3. any of several black-and-white birds not related to the true magpies, as Gymnorhina tibicen, of Australia.

4. an incessantly talkative person; noisy chatterer; chatterbox.

5. a person who collects or hoards things, especially indiscriminately.

6. Western U.S.,  a black-and-white cow or steer, as a Holstein.

magpie

/ ˈmæɡˌpaɪ /

noun

1. any of various passerine birds of the genus Pica, esp P. pica, having a black-and-white plumage, long tail, and a chattering call: family Corvidae (crows, etc)

2. any of various similar birds of the Australian family Cracticidae See also butcherbird

3. any of various other similar or related birds

4. (often capital) a variety of domestic fancy pigeon typically having black-and-white markings

5. a person who hoards small objects

6. a person who chatters

7. 1. the outmost ring but one on a target

   2. a shot that hits this ring

Word History and Origins

Origin of magpie¹

1595–1605; Mag Margaret + pie ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of magpie¹

C17: from Mag diminutive of Margaret, used to signify a chatterbox + _pie ²

Example Sentences

“Gone Before Goodbye” is not some magpie creature patched together from shopworn thriller tropes, even if certain plot elements feel a bit much.

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Historians have interpreted this as the era’s political satire: the magpie, audacious in the presence of a great predator, represented the common man standing up to the nobility.

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In contrast, the magpie was positioned over the cat and represented the common folk, cheekily flipping the hierarchy of the day.

Read more on Salon

It’s a magpie movie that’s happy to give audiences the tinselly things they want — i.e., two robots clobbering the Wi-Fi out of each other.

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John said when he left the house this morning he saw two magpies.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• debater www.thesaurus.com
• orator