Meaning
Any plant of the genus Papaver or the family Papaveraceae, with crumpled, often red, petals and a milky juice having narcotic properties; especially a common poppy or corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) which has orange-red flowers; the flower of such a plant.
Etymology
Origin: Old English
PIE word *péh₂wr̥ The noun is derived from Late Middle English poppy, Middle English popy, popi, popie (“plant of the genus Papaver; poppy seeds used as a spice”) [and other forms], from Old English popiġ (“poppy”), Early Old English popeġ, popaeġ, popæġ, popei [and other forms], perhaps from Late Latin *papavum, popauer, from Latin papāver (“poppy”), which may be from a reduplication of Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ (“bonfire”). Doublet of papaver. Sense 3 (“artificial poppy flower to remember those who died in the two World Wars and other armed conflicts”) reflects the efforts of American professor and humanitarian Moina Michael (1869–1944) to popularize the wearing of artificial poppies in remembrance of those who fought and died in World War I; she was inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields” (1915) by the Canadian poet and soldier John McCrae (1872–1918): see the quotation. The adjective is derived from the noun.
Synonyms & Antonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
Accepted in 16 recorded puzzles:
- 2026-08-17ODGIPRY
- 2026-02-07YATROIP
- 2026-01-17YATROLP
- 2025-12-11YPAOLEM
- 2025-06-28OAPLGNY
- 2025-04-14PAOEBGY
- 2025-04-13OMTPNRY
- 2024-12-06PHOLINY
- 2024-11-27PADEGOY
- 2024-10-04PAOHENY
- 2024-09-24PDYRIOG
- 2023-12-23OYCRPHL
+4 earlier appearances in the archive.