poppy

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)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.

   “In Flanders fields the poppies blow / Between the crosses, row on row, / That mark our place; […] / If ye break faith with us who die / We shall not sleep, though poppies grow / In Flanders fields.”

   “We cherish, too, the poppy red / That grows on fields where valor led; / It seems to signal to the skies / That blood of heroes never dies, / […] / And now the torch and poppy red / We wear in honor of our dead. / Fear not that ye have died for naught; / We've learned the lesson that ye taught / In Flanders fields.”

2. (countable, uncountable)A bright red colour tinted with orange, like that of the common poppy flower.
3. (Australia, British, Canada, countable, uncountable)A simple artificial poppy flower worn in a buttonhole or displayed in other contexts to remember those who died in the two World Wars and other armed conflicts, especially around Remembrance Day/Remembrance Sunday.

   “Troops from the garrison town formed a guard of honour for both sets of players, who emerged for the national anthem with poppies proudly stitched into their tracksuit jackets.”

4. (endearing, informal)One's father or grandfather, or a male authority figure having similar standing.

adj

1. (not-comparable)Of a bright red colour tinted with orange, like that of the common poppy flower (Papaver rhoeas).
2. (informal)Having a popping or bursting sound.
3. (informal)Of a beverage: resembling soda pop; effervescent, fizzy.
4. (informal)Of eyes: protruding, sticking out.
5. (dated, informal)Popular.
6. (informal)Typical of, or in the style of, pop music.

   “I thought Sparks were great; they were very poppy for Island Records. They were considered an oddity but you have to remember that at the time Roxy Music, now everyone's seminal band, were seen as very poppy.”

name

1. (UK)A female given name from English, a flower name used since the end of the 19th century.

   “"It is a very pretty name, Mma. I should like to be called Poppy." The compliment drew a smile. "I used to be very embarrassed about it," said Poppy. "I used to try to hide my name from people. I thought it was a very silly name." Mma Ramotswe shook her head. There was nothing embarrassing about the name Poppy, but there was no telling what names people would find embarrassing.”

2. (alt-of, alternative, term-of-address)Alternative form of poppy (“father, grandfather, or other male authority figure of a similar standing”).

   “My grandfather, whom we all call "Poppy", loves children and enjoys imparting his knowledge of aspects to them. ... Cell phones were not invented at the time, however, so I could not contact Poppy to help me end the hiccups.”

3. (informal)Former U.S. president George H. W. Bush