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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

magpie.

One of several kinds of bird in the family Corvidae, especially Pica pica.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈmæɡˌpaɪ/
  1. One of several kinds of bird in the family Corvidae, especially Pica pica.

  2. A superficially similar Australian bird, Gymnorhina tibicen, in the family Artamidae.

  3. Someone who displays a magpie-like quality such as hoarding or stealing objects.

    figuratively
  4. A fan or member of Newcastle United F.C.

    slang
  5. In the sport of fullbore target rifle, the third circle on a target, between the inner and outer.

    UK
  6. A halfpenny.

    UK · obsolete · slang
  7. A pattern resembling the pied plumage of a magpie.

    attributive
Where this word comes from

From Mag, a nickname for Margaret that was used to denote a chatterer, + archaic pie (“magpie”), from Middle English pie, pye, from Old French pie, from Latin pīca, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peyk- (“woodpecker, magpie”). Displaced native Old English agu (“magpie”) and Middle English aguster (“magpie”), whence English haggister.

verb/ˈmæɡˌpaɪ/
  1. To mark with patches of black and white or light and dark.

    transitive
  2. To steal or hoard (items) as magpies are believed to do.

    ambitransitive
  3. To talk idly; to talk about other people's private business.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

From Mag, a nickname for Margaret that was used to denote a chatterer, + archaic pie (“magpie”), from Middle English pie, pye, from Old French pie, from Latin pīca, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peyk- (“woodpecker, magpie”). Displaced native Old English agu (“magpie”) and Middle English aguster (“magpie”), whence English haggister.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.