Turkey \TUR-kee\ , noun;
Ah, the
turkey. The noble, native American bird we so adore for Thanksgiving feasts. So how did it come to be named after
Turkey?
It was simply a case of mistaken identity. When Europeans landed in the Americas they mistook this previously unknown bird for the
Guineafowl, which is native to Africa (formerly
meleagris). At the time, that bird was called a
turkey-cock or
turkey-hen (depending on gender) because it came to Europeans through Turkish dominions. Eventually the mistake was sorted out, but in the meantime both
turkey and
meleagris stuck as names for the American fowl.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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