popinjay
English
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman papegai, papejoie et al., (northern) Old French papejai (“parrot”), probably from Old Occitan papagay (compare Occitan papagai, Catalan papagai), ultimately from Arabic بَبْغَاء (babḡāʾ, “parrot”), of imitative origin.
Pronunciation
Noun
popinjay (plural popinjays)
- (now archaic) A parrot. [from 14th c.]
- (obsolete) A decorative image of a parrot on a tapestry, cloth etc. [14th-16th c.]
- (heraldry) A heraldic representation of a parrot. [from 15th 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.]
- (Britain) The green woodpecker, Picus viridis. [from 19th c.]
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.