History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Fun for Friday: The Wild Etymology of Magpie

| June 13, 2025

Useless Etymology recently posted about the origin of “magpie,” as in the bird, and it’s a wild ride! First off, you’ve got “pie” as a name for a bird, which is derived from the Latin “pica.” Hang on, though. “Pica” is also a condition in which humans eat non-food items, normally because of a vitamin […]