popinjay
5 synonyms for popinjay, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A picture of a parrot shown on cloth or a tapestry.
Synonyms
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Etymology
Came from Middle English popinjay, popyngeay, popingay, popejay, from Anglo-Norman papegai, papejoie and other forms, and (northern) Old French papejai (“parrot”), probably from Old Occitan papagay (compare Occitan papagai, Catalan papagai), which ultimately goes back to Arabic بَبْغَاء (babḡāʔ, “parrot”), a word of im...
Full origin of popinjay →