POPINJAY

popinjay

(noun) an archaic term for a parrot

popinjay

(noun) a vain and talkative person (chatters like a parrot)

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

popinjay (plural popinjays)

(now, archaic, outside, heraldry) A parrot. [from 14th c.; in heraldry from 15th c.]

(obsolete) A decorative image of a parrot on a tapestry, cloth etc. [14th-16th c.]

A vain, gaudy person; someone who is shallow or superficial. [from 16th c.]

(archery) A target to shoot at, typically stuffed with feathers or plumage. [from 16th c.]

(UK) The green woodpecker, Picus viridis. [from 19th c.]

Source: Wiktionary


Pop"in*jay, n. Etym: [OE. popingay, papejay, OF. papegai, papegaut; cf. Pr. papagai, Sp. & Pg. papagayo, It. pappagallo, LGr. gallus cock, or the same word as E. jay, F. geai. Cf. Papagay.]

1. (Zoöl.) (a) The green woodpecker. (b) A parrot. The pye and popyngay speak they know not what. Tyndale.

2. A target in the form of a parrot. [Scot.]

3. A trifling, chattering, fop or coxcomb. "To be so pestered with a popinjay." Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

10 May 2025

BEATIFY

(verb) declare (a dead person) to be blessed; the first step of achieving sainthood; “On Sunday, the martyr will be beatified by the Vatican”


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Coffee Trivia

In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.

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