Adjacent Words

Magpie definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MAG'PIE, n. [L. pica, with mag.] A chattering bird of the genus Corvus.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: long-tailed black-and-white crow that utters a raucous chattering call
2: someone who collects things that have been discarded by others [syn: magpie, scavenger, pack rat]
3: an obnoxious and foolish and loquacious talker [syn: chatterer, babbler, prater, chatterbox, magpie, spouter]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Mag (nickname for Margaret) + ¹pie Date: 1598 1. any of various birds (especially Pica pica) related to the jays but having a long graduated tail and black-and-white or brightly colored plumage 2. a person who chatters noisily 3. one who collects indiscriminately II. adjective Date: 1796 1. collected indiscriminately ; miscellaneous <magpie compilations of unrelated tidbits — Helen R. Cross> 2. given to indiscriminate collecting ; acquisitive <what possible magpie instinct had impelled me to retain them — S. J. Perelman>

Britannica Concise

Any of several genera of long-tailed songbirds of the crow family (Corvidae). The black-billed magpie (Pica pica) is 18 in. (45 cm) long and strikingly pied (black-and-white), with an iridescent blue-green tail. It is found in NW Africa, across Eurasia, and in W N. America. A bird of farmlands and tree-studded open country, it eats insects, seeds, small vertebrates, the eggs and young of other birds, and fresh carrion. It makes a large, round nest of twigs cemented with mud, and is known for hoarding small, bright objects. Other species (in the genera Cyanopica, Cissa, and Urocissa) include the brilliant blue or green magpies of Asia.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a European and American crow, Pica pica, with a long pointed tail and black and white plumage. 2 any of various birds with plumage like a magpie, esp. Gymnorhina tibicen of Australia. 3 an idle chatterer. 4 a person who collects things indiscriminately. 5 a the division of a circular target next to the outer one. b a rifle shot which strikes this. Etymology: Mag, abbr. of Margaret + PIE(2)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Magpie Mag"pie, n. [OE. & Prov. E. magot pie, maggoty pie, fr. Mag, Maggot, equiv. to Margaret, and fr. F. Marquerite, and common name of the magpie. Marguerite is fr. L. margarita pearl, Gr. ?, prob. of Eastern origin. See Pie magpie, and cf. the analogous names Tomtit, and Jackdaw.] (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of the genus Pica and related genera, allied to the jays, but having a long graduated tail. Note: The common European magpie (Pica pica, or P. caudata) is a black and white noisy and mischievous bird. It can be taught to speak. The American magpie (P. Hudsonica) is very similar. The yellow-belled magpie (P. Nuttalli) inhabits California. The blue magpie (Cyanopolius Cooki) inhabits Spain. Other allied species are found in Asia. The Tasmanian and Australian magpies are crow shrikes, as the white magpie (Gymnorhina organicum), the black magpie (Strepera fuliginosa), and the Australian magpie (Cracticus picatus). Magpie lark (Zo["o]l.), a common Australian bird (Grallina picata), conspicuously marked with black and white; -- called also little magpie. Magpie moth (Zo["o]l.), a black and white European geometrid moth (Abraxas grossulariata); the harlequin moth. Its larva feeds on currant and gooseberry bushes.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(magpies) A magpie is a large black and white bird with a long tail. N-COUNT

Moby Thesaurus

Audubon warbler, Canada goose, English sparrow, accumulator, adjutant bird, agreeable rattle, albatross, all sorts, argala, assemblage, assortment, auk, auklet, avocet, babbler, bald eagle, baldpate, bank swallow, barbet, barn owl, barn swallow, barnacle goose, big talker, bill collector, bittern, blab, blabber, blabberer, blabbermouth, blackbird, blackcap, blatherer, blue jay, booby, broad spectrum, bullfinch, bunting, bush wren, bushtit, butcher bird, buzzard, canary, canvasback, capercaillie, caracara, cardinal, cassowary, catbird, cattle egret, chaffinch, chat, chatterbox, chatterer, chewink, chickadee, chicken hawk, chimney swift, chipping sparrow, cliff swallow, cockatiel, cockatoo, collection agent, collector, condor, conglomeration, connoisseur, coot, cormorant, cowbird, crake, crane, creeper, crossbill, crow, cuckoo, curlew, cushat, dipper, dodo, douanier, dove, duck, dunlin, dunner, eagle, egret, eider duck, emu, erne, exciseman, falcon, farmer, finch, flamingo, flicker, flycatcher, frigate bird, fulmar, gabber, gabbler, gallimaufry, gannet, garganey, gasbag, gatherer, gibble-gabbler, goldeneye, goldfinch, goose, great talker, greylag goose, grosbeak, grouse, guillemot, guinea fowl, gull, gyrfalcon, harrier, hash, hawk, hawk owl, hermit thrush, heron, hobby, hodgepodge, honker, hoopoe, hoot owl, horned owl, hot-air artist, hotchpot, hotchpotch, house finch, house martin, hummingbird, ibis, idle chatterer, indigo bunting, jabberer, jackdaw, jay, jumble, junco, jungle fowl, kea, kestrel, killdee, killdeer, kingbird, kingfisher, kinglet, kite, kittiwake, kiwi, kookaburra, lammergeier, lapwing, lark, laughing jackass, linnet, loon, macaw, mallard, marabou, martin, mash, mavis, medley, melange, merganser, merl, mess, mew, mingle-mangle, miscellany, miser, mishmash, mix, mixed bag, mockingbird, moulin a paroles, mud hen, murre, mute swan, myna, myna bird, night-heron, nighthawk, nightingale, nightjar, nutcracker, nuthatch, odds and ends, olio, olla podrida, omnium-gatherum, oriole, ortolan, osprey, ostrich, ouzel, owl, oyster catcher, pack rat, parakeet, parrot, partridge, passenger pigeon, pasticcio, pastiche, patchwork, patterer, peafowl, peewee, pelican, penguin, petrel, phalarope, pheasant, phoebe, pigeon, plover, potpourri, prater, prattler, ptarmigan, puffin, rail, rattle, raven, razorbill, red grouse, redbird, redhead, redpoll, redshank, redstart, redwing, rhea, ring ouzel, ringdove, ringtail, robin, rook, ruddy duck, salad, salmagundi, sapsucker, sauce, scarlet tanager, scaup duck, scramble, screech owl, sea duck, sea eagle, sea gull, sea mew, sea swallow, secretary bird, sheldrake, shoebill, shoebird, shrike, siskin, snipe, snow bunting, snowbird, solan goose, song sparrow, song thrush, songbird, sparrow, sparrow hawk, spoonbill, sprig, starling, stew, stilt, stork, storm petrel, stormy petrel, swallow, swan, swan goose, swift, tanager, tax collector, teal, teal duck, tern, thrasher, thrush, tit, toucan, towhee, tragopan, tree swallow, trumpeter, turkey, turnstone, turtledove, veery, vulture, warbler, waxwing, weaver, weaverbird, what you will, whippoorwill, whistler, widgeon, wild duck, willet, windbag, windjammer, wood duck, wood owl, wood pigeon, woodcock, woodpecker, word-slinger, wren, wryneck, yellowbird, yellowhammer, yellowlegs, yellowthroat, zebra finch