magpie English · revision 1063

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmæɡˌpaɪ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ A compound of ''Mag'', a nickname for ''Margaret'', and [[pie]] “magpie”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) ''Pie'' is [[bor|fro|pie]], [[der|la|pīca|t=magpie]].^(Etymonline) The nickname ''Mag'' was long used in proverbial expressions about idle chatter, as in Middle English ''magge tales'' “tall tales, nonsense”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Compare [[fr|margot|t=magpie]], from ''Margot'', a pet form of ''Marguerite''.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The common black-and-white European bird of the crow family (1605 in the OED and Barnhart; 1598 in Merriam-Webster).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) Before that the bird was called simply ''pie'' (mid-13th century).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Since the bird is noisy, the word was applied to an idle chatterer (1632).^(OED 1989) Magpies are proverbial for pilfering and hoarding,^(Etymonline) which led to the sense of a person who collects things indiscriminately^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) and to the adjective use “collected indiscriminately, miscellaneous” (1796).^(MW Collegiate) The name was also given to other birds that look like the magpie, such as the Australian black-and-white crow-shrike (1859).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * mid-13th century – the bird called ''pie''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1598 – Merriam-Webster's date for ''magpie''.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1605 – the European magpie (OED, Barnhart).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1632 – an idle chatterer.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1796 – adjective, miscellaneous, collected indiscriminately.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1859 – an Australian black-and-white bird.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of various [[bird|alt=birds]] of the [[crow]] family, especially ''Pica pica'', with a long graduated tail, black-and-white plumage and a noisy chattering call.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Any of various similar birds, such as the black-and-white Australian magpie.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person who chatters noisily; a [[chatterbox]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # A person who collects or [[hoard|alt=hoards]] things indiscriminately.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Collected indiscriminately; [[miscellaneous]]; also, given to indiscriminate collecting.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pie]]

+ * [[pica]]

+ * [[jay]]

+ * [[jackdaw]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}