Although geese and ducks were more likely the main dish at the 1621 feast weve come to know as the first Thanksgiving, its the turkey that has long graced Americans Thanksgiving tables (however unwillingly). The choice is historically a utilitarian one, and the association is so strong that “Turkey Day” has been an informal name for the holiday since at least 1863—the year President Lincoln made the holiday official.
Rumor has it Ben Franklin even wanted it to be the national bird. But its name—turkey—calls to mind ancient and exotic locales—more Anatolia, Mount Ararat, or Istanbul than Jamestown, Plymouth Rock, or New Amsterdam. Whats such a New World bird doing with such an Old World name?
The English gave the Turks credit for any number of new imports in the 16th century. Even pumpkins were known as “Turkish cucumbers.”
For many Americans turkey is a quintessential part of Thanksgiving dinner. Yet the bird called “turkey” in English has a confusing name origin. Turkeys originated in North America not the country called Turkey. So how did the name turkey become attached to large, odd-looking American birds? The story involves a case of mistaken identity with roots in global commerce.
A Name Taken From Turkey
The country now known as Turkey had another name centuries ago – it was known as the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Turks conducted extensive trade during the medieval period. One of the products they traded were guinea fowl, a bird that originated in sub-Saharan Africa.
When Ottoman Turkish merchants brought the birds to Europe, Europeans referred to them as “turkey coqs” or “turkey hens.” This name stuck due to the association with the turkey merchants
Confusion with American Birds
A century later, European colonists in America domesticated the wild North American turkey. This bird had some similarities in appearance to the African guinea fowl.
Not realizing it was a different species, the colonists shipped these American birds back to Europe and simply called them turkeys as well. The names became used interchangeably for both guinea fowl and American turkeys.
Over time, the name turkey stuck for the American bird we associate with Thanksgiving, while guinea fowl reclaimed its original name. But the confusion still caused the American turkey to be named after the country Turkey through mistaken identity.
What Other Languages Call It
The turkey name confusion is even more curious when you consider what other languages call the bird. In Turkish, it is known as “hindi” or Indian bird. The Portuguese call it a “peru” and Malaysians a “Dutch chicken”, also likely due to confusion between the New World and India.
The original French name “coq d’Inde” translated to rooster of India. And in Arabic, the turkey is called a “Greek chicken”, having no association with Turkey at all!
Why the Turkey Stuck
While other languages developed wildly varying names for the American bird, it seems the name turkey had already stuck in English. The term had emerged in English texts before colonists realized the difference between guinea fowl and American turkeys.
Shakespeare himself referred to the turkey in writing during the reign of Henry IV, obviously meaning the African guinea fowl rather than any bird from the New World. But by the time the Americas had been thoroughly explored and settled, turkey became the accepted term for the unique American bird despite having no etymological connection.
A Delicious Bird by Any Name
Whether you know it as a turkey, peru, hindi, Greek or Dutch chicken, the big North American bird has become a delicious centerpiece of holiday meals. The unusual story of how it got named after Turkey may add some interesting trivia to your Thanksgiving dinner conversation. But no matter what you call it, the turkey will remain a tasty tradition.
Frequency of Entities:
Turkey: 5
Ottoman Empire: 1
Africa: 1
Madagascar: 1
guinea fowl: 2
Europeans: 1
American: 2
North American: 1
Shakespeare: 1
Henry IV: 1
French: 1
India: 1
Arabic: 1
Greek: 1
New World: 1
English: 2
Why Turkeys Are Named After Turkey
When the Spanish arrived in Mexico in the 16th century they encountered the already-domesticated common turkey, Meleagris gallopavo. They apparently liked the bird; turkeys were among the plunder they took back to Spain around 1519. By 1541, the birds had arrived in England. In those days the Turkish Ottoman Empire was at its peak, and the English had Turkey (with a capital T) on their mind. The English gave the Turks credit for any number of new imports: maize was Turkish wheat, and pumpkins were Turkish cucumbers—though both were actually New World plants. To paraphrase Cindy Ott in her 2012 book Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon, if it was exotic, chances are it got a Turkish appellation. So the new bird was soon being called a turkey-cock, a name eventually shortened to turkey.
Why is a turkey called a turkey?
FAQ
Why is Turkey country called Turkey?
Why does Turkey have the same name as the country?
What did Native Americans call turkeys?
What was Turkey called before 1923?
Did a turkey cock get a Turkish name?
To paraphrase Cindy Ott in her 2012 book Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon, if it was exotic, chances are it got a Turkish appellation. So the new bird was soon being called a turkey-cock, a name eventually shortened to turkey.
Why are guinea pigs called turkeys?
Once imported, Europeans came to call the guinea fowl the turkey-cock or turkey-hen, because the bird came from the Turks. When settlers in the New World began to send a similar-looking fowl back to Europe, they, out of familiarity, called them turkeys. But, every language seems to have radically different names for what we call a turkey .
Why is a Turkey called a guinea fowl?
Turkeys are native to North America, so it’s something of an etymological puzzle that they’ve come to have the same name as a Eurasian nation. Indeed, it appears that the use of the term “turkey” for poultry was the result, mainly, of European explorers’ confusing it with another bird: Not a turkey. ( SB616) This is a guinea fowl.