popinjay

[ pop-in-jey ]

/ ˈpɒp ɪnˌdʒeɪ /

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See synonyms for popinjay on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person given to vain, pretentious displays and empty chatter; coxcomb; fop.

British Dialect. a woodpecker, especially the green woodpecker.

Archaic. the figure of a parrot usually fixed on a pole and used as a target in archery and gun shooting.

Archaic. a parrot.

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Origin of popinjay

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English papejay, popingay, papinjai(e), from Middle French papegai, papingay “parrot,” ultimately from Arabic bab(ba)ghā', probably imitative of the bird's cry

Words nearby popinjay

popeyed, pop fly, popgun, pop-in, popinac, popinjay, popish, Popish Plot, poplar, Poplar Bluff, poplin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use popinjay in a sentence

That spruce, affected little popinjay over there, who looks as if he had been drinking verjuice.
Catherine de' Medici|Honore de Balzac
Then will they miss seeing a man, and not a popinjay, I retorted.
By order of the company|Mary Johnston
You might argue with them all day, and you could not make them feel so small as I made that popinjay feel in one hour.
Eighty Years And More; Reminiscences 1815-1897|Elizabeth Cady Stanton
When the class war came, he would naturally he found shooting down the workmen; but for any other war, an ignorant popinjay!
The War on All Fronts: England's Effort|Mrs. Humphry Ward

The very quintessence of popinjay vulgarity is reached when nicely is made to do service for well, in this wise: "How do you do?"
The Verbalist|Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres)

British Dictionary definitions for popinjay

popinjay

/ (ˈpɒpɪnˌdʒeɪ) /

noun

a conceited, foppish, or excessively talkative person

an archaic word for parrot

the figure of a parrot used as a target

Word Origin for popinjay

C13 papeniai, from Old French papegay a parrot, from Spanish papagayo, from Arabic babaghā

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

popinjay

Origin of popinjay

Words nearby popinjay

Words related to popinjay

How to use popinjay in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for popinjay

Word Origin for popinjay