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popinjay

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A parrot; also, a vain, talkative person—used metaphorically to criticize superficiality or mimicry in social verse.

Detailed Definition
“Popinjay” mocks gaudy speech or dress—courtiers as popinjays. In satirical poetry, it labels superficiality. The term’s exotic origin enhances ridicule. Poets use it to critique empty eloquence or flamboyance, where human popinjays mimic without meaning, reinforcing themes of authenticity, vanity, and performative identity in comic and moralizing verse.
Example
Example in poetry:
“The popinjay strutted in borrowed plumes,” in a satirical portrait; In Shakespeare’s Henry IV: “That same popinjay, the Frenchman”; “Her words were popinjay chatter, bright but empty”; “The court popinjay mocked the sage”; “A popinjay in politics, all show, no substance”; The popinjay’s song pleased none but himself.
Additional Notes
“Popinjay” mocks vain chatterers by comparing them to parrots; in court satire, the “popinjay lord” repeats empty phrases, critiquing rhetoric devoid of substance through ornithological metaphor.
Also Known As
parrot fool dandy coxcomb fop
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