moorfowl

American  

[moor-foul] / ˈmʊərˌfaʊl /

noun

Chiefly British.

plural

moorfowls,

plural

moorfowl

1. the red grouse.

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moorfowl British  

/ ˈmɔː-, ˈmʊəˌfaʊl /

noun

1. (in British game laws) an archaic name for red grouse Compare heathfowl

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Etymology

Origin of moorfowl

First recorded in 1500–10; moor ¹ + fowl

Example Sentences

Yet here is a man, a little crazed perhaps, who finds dueling a pitiable farce and who would rather watch the love-antics of moorfowl at sunrise than slaughter them.

From Time Magazine Archive

We carried in leathern pouches a store of bread and meat for the midday meal; and William had made shift to shoot a moorfowl that he spied running midst the gorse by the wayside.

From Cedric, the Forester by Marshall, Bernard Gay

We had a moorfowl and mutton-chops for dinner, well cooked, and a reasonable charge. 

From Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland A.D. 1803 by Shairp, John Campbell

The moorfowl does not cry there, the coney has no habitation.

From John Splendid The Tale of a Poor Gentleman, and the Little Wars of Lorn by Munro, Neil

‘Perhaps upon his mouldering breast Some spitefu’ moorfowl bigs her nest.’

From The Complete Works of Robert Burns: Containing his Poems, Songs, and Correspondence. With a New Life of the Poet, and Notices, Critical and Biographical by Allan Cunningham by Burns, Robert