Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—M

Magpie

A contraction of magotpie, or magata-pie. “Mag” is generally thought to be a contraction of Margaret; thus we have Robin red-breast, Tom-tit, Philip —i.e. a sparrow, etc.

“Augurs and understood relations have (By magotpies, and choughs, and rooks) brought forth The secretst man of blood.”

Shakespeare: Macbeth, iii. 4.

Magpie.
Here is an old Scotch rhyme:

One's sorrow, two's mirth,
Three's a wedding, four's a birth
Five's a christening, six a death
Seven's heaven, eight is hell,
And nine's the devil his ane sel'.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Magricio
Magot
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

More on Magpie from Fact Monster:

  • magpie - magpie magpie, common name for certain birds of the family Corvidae (crows and jays). The ...
  • Pieria - Pieria Pieria , region of ancient Macedonia, W of the Thermaic Gulf (the modern Gulf of ...
  • blue jay - blue jay blue jay, common name for a familiar bird (Cyanocitta cristata) of central and E North ...
  • crow, in zoology - crow crow, partially migratory black bird of the same family as the raven, the magpie, the jay, and ...
  • Animal Group Terminology - Animal Group Terminology Source: U.S. Geological Survey Department of the Interior/USGS ...

Related Content