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mag·pie

(măgpī′)

1. Any of various birds of the family Corvidae having a long tail and black, blue, or green plumage with white markings, and noted for their chattering call, especially Pica hudsonia, of western North America, and P. pica, of Eurasia and Africa. Also called pie².

2. Any of various birds that resemble the magpie.

3. A person who chatters.

4. One who compulsively collects or hoards small objects.

[Mag, a name used in proverbs about chatterers (a nickname for Margaret) + PIE².]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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