Where does “popinjay” come from?

popinjay (English) comes from Middle English popinjay, from Old French papegai, from Old Spanish papagayo, from Greek παπαγάλος, from Italian pappagallo, from Byzantine Greek παπαγᾶς, from Arabic بَبَغَاء.

popinjay (English): A parrot; A decorative image of a parrot on a...

Definitions

  1. A parrot; A decorative image of a parrot on a...

Ancestry of “popinjay”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishpopinjay—
2Old Frenchpapegaiparrot
3Old Spanishpapagayo—
4Greekπαπαγάλοςparrot; a person who repeats uncritically what...
5Italianpappagalloparrot; wolf; a person repeating others' words...
6Byzantine Greekπαπαγᾶς—
7Arabicبَبَغَاء—
Every word from Arabic بَبَغَاء →Every word from Byzantine Greek παπαγᾶς →Every word from Italian pappagallo →