popinjay
/ˈpɑpənˌd͡ʒeɪ/noun
popinjay is spelled P-O-P-I-N-J-A-Y: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 29 million words in written English, the 163,711th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, popinjay means “A parrot” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of popinjay is popinjays.
How many letters and syllables are in popinjay?
| Letters | 8: P-O-P-I-N-J-A-Y |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 29 million words; the 163,711th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is popinjay?
Popinjay appears about once in every 29 million words in written English, the 163,711th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce popinjay?
- UK /ˈpɒpɪnd͡ʒeɪ/
- US /ˈpɑpənˌd͡ʒeɪ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-popinjay.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of popinjay
- popinjays plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does popinjay mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A parrot.
- 2
obsoleteA decorative image of a parrot on a tapestry, cloth etc.
- 3
datedA vain, gaudy person; someone who is shallow or superficial.
- 4
A target to shoot at, typically stuffed with feathers or plumage.
- 5
UKThe green woodpecker, Picus viridis.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Popinjay in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense vain, gaudy person:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does popinjay come from?
From Middle English popinjay, popyngeay, popingay, popejay, from Anglo-Norman papegai, papejoie et al., (northern) Old French papejai (“parrot”), probably from Old Occitan papagay (compare Occitan papagai, Catalan papagai), ultimately from Arabic بَبْغَاء (babḡāʔ, “parrot”), of imitative origin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).