turkey

English Online Dictionary. What means turkey‎? What does turkey mean?

English

Alternative forms

• turkie (obsolete)

Etymology

Clipping of turkey-cock and turkey-hen (“(originally) the guinea fowl (family Numididae)”), which was imported to Europe by Turkey merchants through Turkey. The word was then applied to the larger northern American bird Meleagris gallopavo which was brought to Spain by conquistadors in 1523. This transfer of the name may have occurred because the two birds were considered similar to each other, or because the North American turkey was in part introduced through Ottoman territories, or simply to indicate that it was foreign.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtɜːki/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtɝki/
• Homophone: Turkey
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)ki
• Hyphenation: turk‧ey

Noun

turkey (plural turkeys or (obsolete) turkies)

1. (countable, originally, now obsolete) The guinea fowl (family Numididae). [from c. 1600]
3. (countable) A bird in the genus Meleagris with a fan-shaped tail and wattled neck, especially the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo, now domesticated).
5. (uncountable) The flesh or meat of this bird eaten as food.

6. (countable) With a distinguishing word: a bird resembling the Meleagris gallopavo (for example, the brush turkey or bush turkey (Alectura lathami), and the water turkey (Anhinga anhinga)).
7. (countable, bowling) An act of throwing three strikes in a row.
8. (countable, medicine, slang, derogatory) A patient feigning symptoms; a person faking illness or injury; a malingerer.
9. (countable, Australia, US, slang, dated) A pack carried by a lumberman; a bindle; also, a large travel bag, a suitcase. [from early 20th c.]
10. (countable, US, slang) A failure.

    Synonym: flop
11. (countable, US, slang, usually mildly derogatory) A foolish or inept person.

    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:idiot

12. (African-American Vernacular, Baltimore, slang, derogatory) A prostitute. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

    Synonyms: ho, hoe

Hyponyms

• (male): turkey-cock
• (female): turkey-hen
• Californian turkey
• ocellated turkey
• wild turkey

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• gobble (“to make the sound of a turkey”)

References

Further reading

• domestic turkey on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• turkey (bird) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• turkey as food on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• turkey (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Meleagris gallopavo on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Meleagris ocellata on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• “turkey”, in Collins English Dictionary.