magpie

CEFRB1

/ˈmæɡˌpaɪ/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A black-and-white bird known for collecting shiny objects.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

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

Examples

  • It's not a crow, nor a raven. It's a magpie.

  • To the crow family belong the raven, the rook and the magpie.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

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

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

  3. A fan or member of Newcastle United F.C.

More examples

In context

  • Hello Mr Magpie! How's your wife?

  • Not only is Mr. Booker a voracious magpie (who does not always acknowledge the sources of his ideas), but he also turns out to be an annoyingly biased and didactic one.

  • Kitty and I were engaged. The next day I met those accursed “magpie” Jhampanies at the back of Jakko, and, moved by some passing sentiment of pity, stopped to tell Mrs. Wessington everything.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank is a black and white bird that loves collecting shiny objects.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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.