poppy

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See also: Poppy

English[edit]

WOTD – 11 November 2020

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

PIE word
*péh₂wr̥
Common poppies or corn poppies (Papaver rhoeas; sense 1).
An artificial poppy flower (sense 3) for wearing in a buttonhole to remember those who died in armed conflicts.
Artificial poppies (sense 3) at a World War I memorial in the Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Beckwithshaw, in North Yorkshire, England, UK.

The noun is derived from Late Middle English poppy, Middle English popy, popi, popie (“plant of the genus Papaver; poppy seeds used as a spice”) [and other forms], from Old English popiġ (“poppy”), Early Old English popeġ, popaeġ, popæġ, popei [and other forms],[1] perhaps from Late Latin *papavum, popauer, from Latin papāver (“poppy”),[2] which may be from a reduplication of Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ (“bonfire”).

Sense 3 (“artificial poppy flower to remember those who died in the two World Wars and other armed conflicts”) reflects the efforts of American professor and humanitarian Moina Michael (1869–1944) to popularize the wearing of artificial poppies in remembrance of those who fought and died in World War I; she was inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields” (1915) by the Canadian poet and soldier John McCrae (1872–1918): see the quotation.

The adjective is derived from the noun.

Noun[edit]

poppy (countable and uncountable, plural poppies)

  1. Any plant of the genus Papaver or the family Papaveraceae, with crumpled, often red, petals and a milky juice having narcotic properties; especially a common poppy or corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) which has orange-red flowers; the flower of such a plant.
  2. A bright red colour tinted with orange, like that of the common poppy flower.
    poppy:  
  3. (chiefly Australia, British, Canada) A simple artificial poppy flower worn in a buttonhole or displayed in other contexts to remember those who died in the two World Wars and other armed conflicts, especially around Remembrance Day/Remembrance Sunday.
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
  • → Japanese: ポピー (popī)
Translations[edit]
See also[edit]

Adjective[edit]

poppy (not comparable)

  1. Of a bright red colour tinted with orange, like that of the common poppy flower (Papaver rhoeas).
Translations[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From pop (“loud, sharp sound; fizzy drink; to make or burst with a loud, sharp sound; to stand out”) +‎ -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘having the quality of’).[3]

Adjective[edit]

poppy (comparative poppier or more poppy, superlative poppiest or most poppy) (informal)

  1. Having a popping or bursting sound.
  2. Of a beverage: resembling soda pop; effervescent, fizzy.
  3. Of eyes: protruding, sticking out.
    Synonym: bulging
Translations[edit]
resembling soda pop — see effervescent,‎ fizzy
protruding, sticking out — see protruding

Etymology 3[edit]

From pop(ular) +‎ -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘having the quality of’).[4]

Adjective[edit]

poppy (comparative poppier or more poppy, superlative poppiest or most poppy)

  1. (dated) Popular. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  2. (music) Typical of, or in the style of, pop music.
    • 2010, Daryl Easlea, “Island Life”, in Talent is an Asset: The Story of Sparks, London, New York, N.Y.: Omnibus Press, →ISBN:
      I thought Sparks were great; they were very poppy for Island Records. They were considered an oddity but you have to remember that at the time Roxy Music, now everyone's seminal band, were seen as very poppy.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Etymology 4[edit]

From pop (“affectionate form of father”) +‎ -y (suffix forming terms of endearment).

Noun[edit]

poppy (plural poppies)

  1. (endearing) One's father or grandfather, or a male authority figure having similar standing.
    (father): Synonyms: pappy, pop, poppa, (potentially derogatory) pops
    (grandfather): Synonyms: pappy, pop-pop
Translations[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ “popī(e, n.(1)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ “poppy, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2006; “poppy1, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  3. ^ “poppy, adj.1”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2006.
  4. ^ “poppy, adj.2”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2006; “poppy2, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading[edit]

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