popinjay

[ pop-in-jey ]

noun

1. a person given to vain, pretentious displays and empty chatter; coxcomb; fop.
2. British Dialect. a woodpecker, especially the green woodpecker.
3. Archaic. the figure of a parrot usually fixed on a pole and used as a target in archery and gun shooting.
4. Archaic. a parrot.

popinjay

/ ˈpɒpɪnˌdʒeɪ /

noun

1. a conceited, foppish, or excessively talkative person
2. an archaic word for parrot
3. the figure of a parrot used as a target

Word History and Origins

Origin of popinjay¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English papejay, popingay, papinjai(e), from Middle French papegai, papingay “parrot,” ultimately from Arabic bab(ba)ghā', probably imitative of the bird's cry

Word History and Origins

Origin of popinjay¹

C13 papeniai, from Old French papegay a parrot, from Spanish papagayo, from Arabic babaghā

Example Sentences

As are the old-fashioned words — like “martinet,” “popinjay” and “annealed” — that Galloway sprinkles through the text, the way Leigh strewed the beloved posies from her various country estates.

From New York Times

While Gaudi doesn’t hide his contempt for the popinjays and idiots who wasted the lives of good men, he is unstinting in his admiration for heroism and self-sacrifice.

From Washington Post

Protest the power of privileged popinjays who for years turned blind eyes to systematic cheating by the likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin, but won’t let teenagers take medicines prescribed for asthma and ADHD.

From Washington Post

Here is the ultimate insult to this obese, superannuated popinjay: the book renders him invisible, as if flushing him away into oblivion.

From The Guardian

It was this transition that helped turn “Trump into Trump” — from a comparatively minor fish in the Manhattan real estate pond into the world’s greatest popinjay.

From New York Times