poppy

Meaning

Noun

1. Any plant of the genus Papaver or the family Papaveraceae, with crumpled, often red, petals and a milky juice having narcotic properties; especially a common poppy or corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) which has orange-red flowers; the flower of such a plant.
2. A bright red colour tinted with orange, like that of the common poppy flower.
3. A simple artificial poppy flower worn in a buttonhole or displayed in other contexts to remember those who died in the two World Wars and other armed conflicts, especially around Remembrance Day/Remembrance Sunday.

Adj

Of a bright red colour tinted with orange, like that of the common poppy flower (Papaver rhoeas).

Adj

1. (informal) Having a popping or bursting sound.
2. (informal) Of a beverage: resembling soda pop; effervescent, fizzy.
3. (informal) Of eyes: protruding, sticking out.

Adj

1. Popular.
2. Typical of, or in the style of, pop music.

Synonyms

poppy seed

papaver

poppyhead

red poppy

snowdrop

snowflake

❄️

windflower

corn poppy

field poppy

opium poppy

papaverous

Flanders poppy

corn rose

daisy

🌼

red weed

Hyphenated as

pop‧py

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈpɒpi/

Etymology

PIE word
*péh₂wr̥
The noun is derived from Late Middle English poppy, Middle English popy, popi, popie (“plant of the genus Papaver; poppy seeds used as a spice”) [and other forms], from Old English popiġ (“poppy”), Early Old English popeġ, popaeġ, popæġ, popei [and other forms], perhaps from Late Latin *papavum, popauer, from Latin papāver (“poppy”), which may be from a reduplication of Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ (“bonfire”). Doublet of papaver.
Sense 3 (“artificial poppy flower to remember those who died in the two World Wars and other armed conflicts”) reflects the efforts of American professor and humanitarian Moina Michael (1869–1944) to popularize the wearing of artificial poppies in remembrance of those who fought and died in World War I; she was inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields” (1915) by the Canadian poet and soldier John McCrae (1872–1918): see the quotation.
The adjective is derived from the noun.