magpie (English)

Where does "magpie" come from?

The word 'magpie' traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European *speyk-, a name for a woodpecker or magpie that likely mimicked the bird's chattering call. This term evolved through Latin as 'pica' and Old French as 'pie' before finally entering English. In the 17th century, the name 'Mag', a common nickname for Margaret used to denote a chatterer, was combined with 'pie' to create the familiar name we use today.

Full etymology tree

magpie (English), 'One of several kinds of bird in the family Corvidae, especially Pica pica.'
- compound Mag (English), 'Clipping of Magnificat.'
  - derived Margaret (English), 'A female given name from Ancient Greek.'
- compound pie (English), 'A type of pastry that consists of an outer crust and a filling. (Savory pies are more popular in the UK and sweet pies are more popular in the US, so "pie" without qualification has different connotations in these dialects.)'
  - inherited pie (Middle English), 'alternative form of pye (“pie”)'
    - inherited pīca (Latin), 'magpie'
      - inherited *peikā (Proto-Italic), 'magpie'
        inherited *(s)peyk- (Proto-Indo-European), 'name of a bird'

Direct ancestors

Updated July 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris