magpie

¹mag·pie

noun \ˈmag-ˌpī\

Definition of MAGPIE

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

Examples of MAGPIE

1. <media magpies will no doubt seize upon the president's latest gaffe and blow it all out of proportion>

Illustration of MAGPIE

Origin of MAGPIE

Mag (nickname for Margaret) + ¹pie

First Known Use: 1598

Related to MAGPIE

Synonyms

babbler, blabber, blabbermouth, blowhard, cackler, chatterer, conversationalist, gabbler, gasbag, jabberer, jay, chatterbox, motormouth, prattler, talker, windbag

Related Words

gossip, gossiper, talebearer, tattler, tattletale; blatherer, blatherskite; converser, discourser

Rhymes with MAGPIE

aby, agley, air-dry, Alai, ally, Altai, anti, apply, assai, awry, aye-aye, Bacchae, Baha'i, banzai, barfly, bee fly, Belgae, belie, bigeye, big lie, black eye, blackfly, black tie, blow-dry, blowby, blowfly, blue-sky, Bo Hai, bone-dry, bonsai, botfly, Brunei, buckeye, bugeye, bye-bye, canaille, catchfly, cat's-eye, Chennai, chess pie, Chiang Mai, cockeye, cockshy, come by, comply, cow pie, crane fly, cross-eye, deadeye, decry, deep-fry, deep-sky, deerfly, defy, Delphi, deny, descry, do by, dong quai, drip-dry, drop by, dry eye, dry fly, elhi, Eli, espy, face fly, firefly, fish-eye, flesh fly, flyby, fly high, forby, freeze-dry, frogeye, fruit fly, gadfly, gallfly, get by, GI, glass eye, go by, good-bye, greenfly, grisaille, gun-shy, Haggai, Hawkeye, heel fly, hereby, hi-fi, hog-tie, horn fly, horsefly, housefly, imply, jai alai, July, Karzai, Kasai, knee-high, lanai, Lanai, lay-by, lay by, Lehigh, let fly, Levi, lie by, mai tai, mao-tai, Masai, mayfly, medfly, mind's eye, Moirai, mooneye, Mumbai, my eye, nearby, necktie, nilgai, nisi, outbye, outcry, oxeye, pad thai, Panay, panfry, Parcae, piece-dye, pigsty, pinkeye, Po Hai, pop eye, pop fly, potpie, put by, Qinghai, quasi, rabbi, red-eye, rely, reply, rib eye, ride high, rocaille, rough-dry, run dry, Sakai, sand fly, sci-fi, screw eye, semi, Sendai, serai, set by, shanghai, Shanghai, sheep's eye, shoofly, shut-eye, Sinai, sky-high, small-fry, stand by, standby, stir-fry, string tie, supply, swear by, terai, test-fly, thereby, tie-dye, titi, tongue-tie, Transkei, twist tie, two-ply, untie, vat dye, Versailles, walleye, well-nigh, whereby, whitefly, wild rye, wise guy

²magpie

adjective

Definition of MAGPIE

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>

Examples of MAGPIE

1. <a pack rat whose cramped apartment is filled with a magpie collection of books, old newspapers, and tchotchkes>

First Known Use of MAGPIE

1796

Related to MAGPIE

Synonyms

assorted, eclectic, heterogeneous, indiscriminate, kitchen-sink, miscellaneous, mixed, motley, patchwork, piebald, promiscuous, raggle-taggle, ragtag, varied

Antonyms

homogeneous

Related Words

manifold, multifarious; multiple, multiplex, myriad; disparate, divergent, diverse, sundry, various; chaotic, cluttered, confused, disarranged, disarrayed, disheveled (or dishevelled), disordered, farraginous, jumbled, littered, messed, messy, muddled; amalgamated, blended, combined, commingled, commixed, conglomerated, fused, incorporated, intermingled, intermixed, merged, mingled; composite, conglomerate, hybrid; unclassified, unsorted

Near Antonyms

monolithic, uniform; alike, identical, like, same; distinct, distinctive, individual, separate

magpie

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

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 North Africa, across Eurasia, and in western North 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.