fowl

[ foul ]

noun

, plural fowls, (especially collectively) fowl.

1. the domestic or barnyard hen or rooster; chicken ( def ). Compare domestic fowl.
2. any of several other, usually gallinaceous, birds that are barnyard, domesticated, or wild, as the duck, turkey, or pheasant.
3. (in market and household use) a full-grown domestic fowl for food purposes, as distinguished from a chicken or young fowl.
4. the flesh or meat of a domestic fowl.
5. any bird (used chiefly in combination):

   waterfowl; wildfowl.

verb (used without object)

1. to hunt or take wildfowl.

fowl

/ faʊl /

noun

1. See domestic fowl
2. any other bird, esp any gallinaceous bird, that is used as food or hunted as game See also waterfowl wildfowl
3. the flesh or meat of fowl, esp of chicken
4. an archaic word for any bird

verb

1. intr to hunt or snare wildfowl

Word History and Origins

Origin of fowl¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English foul, fuhel, Old English fugol, fugel; cognate with Old Saxon fugal, Gothic fugls, Old High German fogal ( German Vogel ), from Germanic fuglaz, a possible dissimilation of unattested fluglaz, from the same root as fly ²( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of fowl¹

Old English fugol ; related to Old Frisian fugel , Old Norse fogl , Gothic fugls , Old High German fogal

Idioms and Phrases

see neither fish nor fowl .

Example Sentences

Whispers of a “fowl plague” date back to the late 19th Century, while H5N1 specifically was first detected in 1996 in Chinese geese.

From Salon

Dridi and other researchers wanted to see how much genetic differences there were between jungle fowl and modern breeds.

From Science Daily

The disease was first identified in Italy in the late 19th century and was initially referred to as “fowl plague,” as it was confused with a form of fowl cholera.

From Salon

What I saw above Idaho was neither fish nor fowl, and I could not quite convince myself it was real.

From Los Angeles Times

They raised free-range pigeons and never served fowl as food.

From New York Times

Related Words

• chicken
• goose
• hen
• pheasant