Diminutive of
Maggie and
Margaret, from the English word for the common European bird, known for its chattering, before c.1600 known simply as
pie. The first element is from
Mag, short for Margaret, long used in proverbial and slang English for qualities associated generally with women, especially in this case "idle chattering" (see
Magge tales "tall tales, nonsense," early 15c.; also French
margot "magpie," from
Margot, pet form of
Marguerite). Second element,
pie, is the earlier name of the bird, from Old French
pie, from Latin
pica "magpie," feminine of
picus "woodpecker," possibly from Proto-Indo-European base
*pi-, denoting pointedness, of the beak, perhaps, but the magpie also has a long, pointed tail. The birds are proverbial for pilfering and hoarding, can be taught to speak, and have been regarded since the Middle Ages as a bird of ill omen.