means A flowering plant of the genus Papaver, often bright red, whose seed pods yield opium and whose blooms have become a symbol of remembrance for the war dead.

from From Old English 'popig' or 'popæg,' itself drawn from a Vulgar Latin form of Latin 'papaver,' the Romans' name for the poppy. The root may echo something doubled or babbled — possibly imitating the sound of chewing the seeds, or simply an ancient word handed down with no clear story behind it. Its modern sorrowful fame comes much later: the red field poppies that bloomed over churned battlefields turned the flower into an emblem of mourning.