magpie

Meaning

Noun

1. One of several kinds of bird in the family Corvidae, especially Pica pica.
2. A superficially similar Australian bird, Gymnorhina tibicen or Cracticus tibicen.
3. Someone who displays a magpie-like quality such as hoarding or stealing objects.
4. (slang) A fan or member of Newcastle United F.C.
5. The third circle on a target, between the inner and outer.
6. (obsolete,slang) A halfpenny.

Verb

1. To mark with patches of black and white or light and dark.
2. To steal or hoard (items) as magpies are believed to do.
3. To talk idly; to talk about other people's private business.

Synonyms

pie

🥧

chatterbox

jay

jackdaw

pack rat

babbler

chatterer

prater

scavenger

spouter

black-billed magpie

common magpie

magpie moth

aggregator

currant moth

European magpie

gatherer

collector

blue jay

bird

🐦

Hyphenated as

mag‧pie

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈmæɡˌpaɪ/

Etymology

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