Antonyms for magpie

Grammar : Noun

Spell : mag-pahy

Phonetic Transcription : ˈmægˌpaɪ

listener

Definition of magpie

Origin : the common European bird, known for its chattering, c.1600, earlier simply pie (early 13c.); first element from Mag, nickname for Margaret, long used in proverbial and slang English for qualities associated generally with women, especially in this case "idle chattering" (cf. Magge tales "tall tales, nonsense," early 15c.; also French margot "magpie," from Margot, pet form of Marguerite).
Second element, pie, is the earlier name of the bird, from Old French pie, from Latin pica "magpie," fem. of picus "woodpecker," from PIE root *(s)peik- "woodpecker, magpie" (cf. Umbrian peica "magpie," Sanskrit pikah "Indian cuckoo," Old Norse spætr, German Specht "woodpecker"); possibly from PIE root *pi-, denoting pointedness, of the beak, perhaps, but the magpie also has a long, pointed tail. The birds are proverbial for pilfering and hoarding, can be taught to speak, and have been regarded since the Middle Ages as ill omens.
Whan pyes chatter vpon a house it is a sygne of ryghte euyll tydynges. [1507]
Divination by number of magpies is attested from c.1780 in Lincolnshire; the rhyme varies from place to place, the only consistency being that one is bad, two are good.

As in pack rat : noun someone that hoards objects
As in chatterbox : noun talkative person
As in scavenger : noun collector
As in talker : noun conversationalist

Example sentences :

Of course you can answer no questions when I keep chattering like a magpie.
Extract from : « A War-Time Wooing » by Charles King

But the magpie was lazy, and she thought, "If I do not learn, they will build a nest for me."
Extract from : « The Book of Nature Myths » by Florence Holbrook

Before long all the birds but the magpie had their nests built.
Extract from : « The Book of Nature Myths » by Florence Holbrook

Now the magpie was lazy, and she sat still and watched the others at their work.
Extract from : « The Book of Nature Myths » by Florence Holbrook

Out upon you, magpie; would you delude the old man with fables?
Extract from : « The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor » by Stephen Cullen Carpenter

But, just as she was going to leave the ‘fould,’ a magpie flew before her.
Extract from : « Welsh Folk-Lore » by Elias Owen

But p. 327ever since then I know it is unlucky to see a magpie.
Extract from : « Welsh Folk-Lore » by Elias Owen

He might as well have provided them for a squirrel or a magpie.
Extract from : « Uncle Tom's Cabin » by Harriet Beecher Stowe

But how many thousand times does a magpie cross us and nothing come of it?
Extract from : « Put Yourself in His Place » by Charles Reade

It was thus she read the magpie, from three o'clock till six that afternoon.
Extract from : « Put Yourself in His Place » by Charles Reade

Synonyms for magpie

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019