turkey
Pluralturkeys
Pluralturkeys
- 1A bird of the genus Meleagris, with a fan-shaped tail and a wattled neck, especially the North American species Meleagris gallopavo, now also domesticated.
A flock of wild turkeys was scratching for acorns at the edge of the woods.
The tom turkey puffed up its feathers and spread its tail into a wide fan.
- 2The flesh of the turkey, eaten as food.
Ground turkey is often used in place of beef in chili.
The deli sells sliced turkey by the pound.
UsageNo a for the meat: some turkey, sliced turkey, turkey sandwiches.
- 3A country spanning Eastern Thrace in southeastern Europe and Anatolia in western Asia, officially the Republic of Türkiye, with its capital at Ankara.
Turkey shares land borders with Greece, Bulgaria, Iran, and several other countries.
She spent a semester in Turkey studying history at a university in Ankara.
UsageWritten with a capital T. The official name Türkiye also appears in English.
Note
Only a capital letter separates the country from the bird, and the match is no accident: the bird took its name from the country, by way of the African guinea fowl.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The bird's name derives from the country name through the earlier name for guinea fowl. en.wikipedia.org
- The earlier bird called turkey was the African guinea fowl. en.wikipedia.org
- 4The Ottoman Empire, a former empire spanning parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, with its capital at Istanbul.
European diplomats spent much of the nineteenth century arguing over the future of Turkey, the sick man of Europe.
After the Balkan Wars, Turkey had lost almost all of its lands in Europe.
UsageUse the Ottoman Empire to avoid confusion with modern Turkey.
Note
English once called the whole Ottoman state by this name, and older books use it freely. In a historical text, then, Turkey may mean the empire rather than the modern country.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Turkey historically named the Ottoman state and was commonly used for it in contemporary writing. en.wikipedia.org
- Turkey in a historical text can refer to the Ottoman Empire. en.wikipedia.org
Less common meanings
- 5Something that fails or turns out badly, such as an unsuccessful film.
Critics called the musical the biggest turkey of the season.
The studio has had a few turkeys this year, but its animated films still make money.
UsageClose to flop but with mockery, so it suits reviews and conversation more than formal reports.
Similarflop
Note
Reviewers reach for it when a film bombs, as Rob Schmieder did with Just a Gigolo in 1981, but it stretches to any project people regret: Christian Wolmar used it in 2021 for new railway stations at Euston and Coventry.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Rob Schmieder called Just a Gigolo a turkey in a review published in 1981. en.wiktionary.org
- Christian Wolmar used turkey in 2021 when criticizing new railway stations at Euston and Coventry. en.wiktionary.org
- 6A person who is foolish or inept.
Which turkey left the freezer door open all night?
My brother can be a real turkey, but he always means well.
UsageMore exasperated than nasty: teasing among friends, sharper aimed at a stranger. Typical: some turkey, a real turkey.
- 7In bowling, the feat of throwing three strikes in a row.
He opened the game with a turkey and never looked back.
A late turkey lifted her score past her rival's.
UsageSay bowl a turkey or throw a turkey.
Note
Bowlers keep the name for a strict kind of streak. All three balls must be strikes, each clearing a full set of pins; a spare, where the second ball clears what is left, breaks the run as surely as a miss.
- 8Used with a qualifying word: any of several birds resembling the North American turkey, Meleagris gallopavo, such as the brush turkey or the water turkey.
The male brush turkey rakes leaves and soil into a huge mound to warm the eggs.
A water turkey perched on a dead branch, drying its spread wings in the sun.
Note
The name follows the bird's look rather than its family: the brush turkey or bush turkey (Alectura lathami) and the water turkey (Anhinga anhinga) sit in genera of their own, outside Meleagris, home of the true turkey.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
- The brush turkey is also called the bush turkey and has the scientific name Alectura lathami. nationalparks.nsw.gov.au
- The brush turkey belongs to Alectura, outside Meleagris. australian.museum
- The water turkey is Anhinga anhinga, belonging to Anhinga rather than Meleagris. en.wikipedia.org
- The brush turkey resembles a turkey in appearance. environment.nsw.gov.au
- The name water turkey refers to the bird's appearance. fws.gov
- True turkeys belong to Meleagris. en.wikipedia.org
- 9A pack or bundle of belongings such as a lumberman carries; also, a large travel bag or suitcase.
Note
Workers in both the United States and Australia once used this slang: a lumberman's turkey was his pack or bindle, the bundle of belongings he carried, and the same word could mean a large travel bag or suitcase.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The pack or baggage sense was slang used in both Australia and the United States. en.wiktionary.org
- A lumberman's turkey was his pack or bindle of belongings. en.wiktionary.org
- Turkey could also mean a large travel bag or suitcase. en.wiktionary.org
- 10The guinea fowl, an African bird of the family Numididae.
Note
The bird the name first belonged to. Turkey is a clipping of turkey-cock and turkey-hen, names first given to the guinea fowl, an African bird that reached Europe by way of Turkey. The name then passed to the North American bird, which looks superficially similar, and this older meaning died out; in very old writing, a turkey may turn out to be a guinea fowl.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
- Turkey is a shortened form of turkey-cock and turkey-hen. en.wikisource.org
- The bird name originally denoted the guinea fowl. en.wikisource.org
- Guinea fowl are native to Africa. en.wikipedia.org
- Guinea fowl were imported into Europe through Turkey. en.wikipedia.org
- The name was subsequently transferred to the superficially similar North American bird. en.wikipedia.org
- The guinea-fowl sense is obsolete and can occur in historical writing. en.wiktionary.org
- 11The deep indigo dye known as Turkey blue, or its color.
Note
An old shorthand that has not survived: Turkey alone, standing for Turkey blue, is obsolete and turns up only in older writing. Readers who meet it there should keep it apart from the red dye, which goes by the same short name and is still in use; only context tells the two colors apart.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Turkey was used alone as a noun meaning Turkey blue, a deep indigo dye or its color; this sense is obsolete. en.wiktionary.org
- Turkey also names the red dye or its color. en.wiktionary.org
- 12Dyed or colored Turkey blue.
Note
An adjective that is easy to misread in old writing: before a noun, Turkey could give the deep indigo a cloth was dyed rather than the country it came from. Unlike its red counterpart, this blue use is obsolete.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Turkey could function as an adjective meaning dyed or colored Turkey blue. en.wiktionary.org
- Turkey blue denotes a deep blue produced using indigo on cloth. en.wiktionary.org
- 13The vibrant red dye known as Turkey red, or its color.
- 14Dyed or colored Turkey red.
- 15A patient who feigns symptoms, or any person who fakes illness or injury.
- 16A prostitute.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
Turkey is short for turkey-cock and turkey-hen. These names first referred to the guinea fowl, an African bird that reached Europe through Turkey, and were later moved to the North American bird Meleagris gallopavo, which looks somewhat like it.
From Middle English Turkye, from Anglo-Norman Turkye and Medieval Latin Turcia, from Turcus ("Turk"), which came through Byzantine Greek and Persian from Old Turkic türk.