pye

[pahy]

noun Ecclesiastical.

pie⁴.

Origin of pye

First recorded in 1530–40

pie

⁴

or pye

[pahy]

noun

(in England before the Reformation) a book of ecclesiastical rules for finding the particulars of the service for the day.

Origin of pie

⁴

1470–80; translation of Latin pīca pie²; the allusion is obscure; cf. pica¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for pye

Historical Examples of pye

Hamish controlled his emotion better than did the Rev. Mr. Pye.
The Channings
Mrs. Henry Wood
I explained to her the situation, and added that Pye would be placed on guard.
Hurricane Island
H. B. Marriott Watson
I wondered, as I had wondered about Pye, how long she had been there, and if she had heard.
Hurricane Island
H. B. Marriott Watson
It was the treasure they looked at, and this was where Pye had concealed it.
Hurricane Island
H. B. Marriott Watson
I did not return to Pye, but went to my own cabin in an irritable condition.
Hurricane Island
H. B. Marriott Watson

British Dictionary definitions for pye

pye

noun

a variant spelling of pie 5

pie

noun

a baked food consisting of a sweet or savoury filling in a pastry-lined dish, often covered with a pastry crust
have a finger in the pie
1. to have an interest in or take part in some activity
2. to meddle or interfere
pie in the sky illusory hope or promise of some future good; false optimism

Word Origin for pie

C14: of obscure origin

pie

noun

an archaic or dialect name for magpie

Word Origin for pie

C13: via Old French from Latin pīca magpie; related to Latin pīcus woodpecker

pie

noun, verb

printing a variant spelling of pi 2

pie

⁴

noun

a very small former Indian coin worth one third of a pice

Word Origin for pie

C19: from Hindi pā'ī, from Sanskrit pādikā a fourth

pie

⁵

pye

noun

history a book for finding the Church service for any particular day

Word Origin for pie

C15: from Medieval Latin pica almanac; see pica 1

pie

⁶

adjective

be pie on NZ informal to be keen on

Word Origin for pie

from Māori pai ana

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

Word Origin and History for pye

pie

n.1

"pastry," mid-14c. (probably older; piehus "bakery" is attested from late 12c.), from Medieval Latin pie "meat or fish enclosed in pastry" (c.1300), perhaps related to Medieval Latin pia "pie, pastry," also possibly connected with pica "magpie" (see pie (n.2)) on notion of the bird's habit of collecting miscellaneous objects. Figurative of "something to be shared out" by 1967.

According to OED, not known outside English, except Gaelic pighe, which is from English. In the Middle Ages, a pie had many ingredients, a pastry but one. Fruit pies began to appear c.1600. Figurative sense of "something easy" is from 1889. Pie-eyed "drunk" is from 1904. Phrase pie in the sky is 1911, from Joe Hill's Wobbly parody of hymns. Pieman is not attested earlier than the nursery rhyme "Simple Simon" (c.1820). Pie chart is from 1922.

pie

n.2

"magpie," mid-13c. (late 12c. as a surname), from Old French pie (13c.), from Latin pica "magpie" (see magpie). In 16c., a wily pie was a "cunning person."

pie

n.3

also pi, printers' slang for "a mass of type jumbled together" (also pi, pye), 1650s, perhaps from pie (n.1) on notion of a "medley," or pie (n.2); cf. pica (n.1). As a verb from 1870. Related: Pied.

Idioms and Phrases with pye

pie

In addition to the idiom beginning with pie

pie in the sky

also see:

apple-pie order
easy as pie
eat crow (humble pie)
finger in the pie
slice of the pie