Turkey why is called

Case in point: William Shakespeare used the term in Twelfth Night , believed to be written in or The lack of context around his usage suggests that the term had widespread reach. But the birds did not come directly from the New World to England; rather, they came via merchant ships from the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Merriam-Webster's Words of the Week - Oct. Merriam-Webster's Words of the Week - Nov. Time Traveler. Love words? Need even more definitions?

Ask the Editors 'Everyday' vs. What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'? How 'literally' can mean "figuratively". Some Indian dialects, however, use the word piru or peru , the latter being how the Portuguese refer to the American fowl, which is not native to Peru but might have become popular in Portugal as Spanish and Portuguese explorers conquered the New World. Then there are the turkey truthers and linguistic revisionists. On December 13, , Rabbi Harold M. Its binomial nomenclature, Meleagris gallopavo , is a hodgepodge.

The first name comes from a Greek myth in which the goddess Artemis turned the grieving sisters of the slain Meleager into guinea fowls.

And so, the next time you think about turkey, give a respectful nod to guinea fowls and their Turkish associations. And what about the origin of the name of the USA? Feedback We've Added New Words! Word of the Day. Meanings Meanings. Previous "Cost" vs. What is a turkey?