See Also: Poppy(medicine)
poppy oil(medicine)
sea poppy(medicine)
poppy(dictionary)
poppy(1)(dictionary)
poppy(2)(dictionary)
poppy(dictionary)
poppy family(encyclopedia)
poppy (as used in expressions)(encyclopedia)
opium poppy(encyclopedia)

poppy (iou)



poppy noun.

I.
Any of various plants of the genus Papaver (family Papaveraceae) with showy papery flowers and milky latex, esp. (more fully corn poppy) Papaver rhoeas, a weed of arable land with scarlet flowers; (with specifying word) any of various other plants of the genus Papaver or allied genera. Also, a flower or flowering stem of such a plant. OE.
Californian poppy, horned poppy, Iceland poppy, opium poppy, oriental poppy, sea poppy, Shirley poppy, etc.
b. More fully tall poppy. A tall or striking thing or person; spec. a privileged or distinguished person; tall poppy syndrome, a tendency to discredit or disparage those who have achieved success in public life. Now chiefly Austral. M17.
c. An artificial red poppy sold on behalf of the ex-service community and worn in Britain on Remembrance Day and the period directly preceding it (cf. FLANDERS poppy). Also, an artificial white poppy worn as an emblem of peace, esp. on Remembrance Day and the week directly preceding it. E20.
d. Money. slang. M20.
The corn-cockle, Agrostemma githago (= POPPLE noun3). Also (with specifying word) [by assoc. with POP verb], any of several plants (e.g. bladder campion, Silene vulgaris) whose corolla or calyx may be inflated and popped, esp. by children in play. rare (chiefly dial.). LME.
fig. A thing with narcotic or sleep-inducing qualities (like extracts of the opium poppy). L16.
a. Formerly, the opium poppy or any of its extracts as used in pharmacy. Now (slang), opium. E17.
b. A perfume derived from a poppy. E20.
The bright scarlet colour of the corn poppy, Papaver rhoeas. L18.
II.
[perh. a different word.] = poppy-head (b) below. LME.
Phrases: corn poppy: see sense 1 above. FLANDERS poppy. opium poppy: see sense 1 above. spattling poppy: see SPATTLE verb1. tall poppy: see sense 1b above.
Comb.: poppy anemone a cultivated anemone, Anemone coronaria, with often red flowers like those of poppies; poppy-colour a bright scarlet; poppy-coloured adjective of poppy-colour; Poppy Day (a) = Remembrance Day s.v. REMEMBRANCE noun; (b) the Saturday before Remembrance Day, on which artificial red poppies are sold in the street; (cf. sense 1d above); poppy-head (a) the seed-capsule of a poppy, having small holes through which the seeds are released when mature; (b) Architecture an ornamental finial on the top of the end of a church pew; poppy mallow any of several N. American mallows of the genus Callirhoe, having white, red, or purple flowers like those of poppies; poppy-seed the seed of a poppy, esp. the opium poppy, used as a flavouring, to garnish bread, etc.