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Poppy

 - 6 dictionary results

pop⋅py

[pop-ee]
–noun, plural -pies for 1, 2, 4–7.
1. any plant of the genus Papaver, having showy, usually red flowers. Compare poppy family.
2. any of several related or similar plants, as the California poppy or the prickly poppy.
3. an extract, as opium, from such a plant.
4. Also called poppy red. an orangish red resembling scarlet.
5. Architecture. poppyhead.
6. an artificial flower resembling a poppy, esp. one received as evidence of a contribution to a fund for disabled war veterans.
7. tall poppy, Australian. someone of preeminence or with a large income; important and powerful person.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE popæg, papig ≪ VL *papāvum, for L papāver


pop⋅py⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pop·py   (pŏp'ē)   
n.   pl. pop·pies
  1. Any of numerous plants of the genus Papaver, having nodding buds with four crumpled petals, showy red, orange, or white flowers, a milky juice, and capsules that dehisce through terminal pores.

  2. Any of several similar or related plants, such as the California poppy.

  3. An extract from the sap of unripe poppy seedpods, used in medicine and narcotics.

  4. A vivid red to reddish orange.


[Middle English popi, from Old English popig, probably alteration of Vulgar Latin *papāvum, alteration of Latin papāver.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

poppy 
O.E. popæg, from W.Gmc. *papua-, probably from V.L. *papavum, from L. papaver "poppy," perhaps a reduplicated form of imitative base *pap- "to swell." Associated with battlefields and war dead at least since Waterloo (1815).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: pop·py
Pronunciation: 'päp-E
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural poppies
: any herb of the genus Papaver(family Papaveraceae, the poppy family); especially : OPIUM POPPY
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

poppy pop·py (pŏp'ē)
n.

  1. Any of numerous plants of the genus Papaver, having showy red, orange, or white flowers, a milky juice, and capsules that dehisce through terminal pores.

  2. An extract from the sap of unripe poppy seedpods, used in medicine and narcotics.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

poppy

any of several ornamental flowering plants of the poppy family (Papaveraceae), especially species of the genus Papaver, which have lobed or dissected leaves, milky sap, often nodding buds on solitary stalks, and four- to six-petaled flowers with numerous stamens surrounding the ovary. The two sepals drop off as the petals unfold. The ovary develops into a spherical capsule topped by a disk formed by the stigmas. The many small seeds escape from pores beneath the disk when the capsule is shaken by the wind

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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