A fowl is a bird, especially one that can be eaten as food, such as a duck or a chicken.
Carve the fowl into 8 pieces.
...ducks and many other animals and fowl.
Synonyms: poultry More Synonyms of fowl
fowl in British English
(faʊl)
noun
1. 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
5. (intransitive)
to hunt or snare wildfowl
Word origin
Old English fugol; related to Old Frisian fugel, Old Norse fogl, Gothic fugls, Old High German fogal
fowl in American English
(faʊl)
nounWord forms: pluralfowls or fowl
1.
any bird
now only in combination
wildfowl
2.
any of various domestic birds used as food
; specif.,
a.
the chicken
b.
the duck, goose, turkey, etc.
c.
a full-grown chicken, as distinguished from a springer, etc.
3.
the flesh of any of these birds used for food
verb intransitive
4.
to catch, trap, hunt, or shoot wild birds for food or sport
Derived forms
fowler (ˈfowler)
noun
fowling (ˈfowling)
noun
Word origin
ME foule, foghel < OE fugol, akin to Ger vogel, bird < Gmc *fuglaz, altered by dissimulation < *fluglaz < *flug-, *fleug- < IE *pleuk- > fly1
More idioms containing
fowl
be neither fish nor fowl
Examples of 'fowl' in a sentence
fowl
Will he prove neither upfield fish nor midfield fowl?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
But the trouble with this series is that it is neither fish nor fowl.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Some might call that fowl play.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It is neither fish nor fowl.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Instead of fish and fowl, he simply saw larger fish.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
And if she wants to wed in white she'd need a fish or fowl frock.
The Sun (2010)
When Rhodry tried a bite it tasted of meat, not fowl.
Kerr, Katharine A Time of War (1993)
I eat fish and fowl.
The Sun (2010)
The creature that incurred the congestion charge in Central London yesterday was neither fish nor fowl nor good red herring.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
We should recognise it as the noble jungle fowl that, in the deepest recesses of its genetic code, it still is.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Word lists with
fowl
related adjectives, male animals, female animals
In other languages
fowl
British English: fowl NOUN
A fowl is a bird, especially one that can be eaten as food, such as a duck or a chicken.
Carve the fowl into 8 pieces.
American English: fowl
Brazilian Portuguese: ave (doméstica)
Chinese: 家禽
European Spanish: ave de corral
French: volaille
German: Geflügel
Italian: volatile
Japanese: 家禽
Korean: 가금
European Portuguese: ave (doméstica)
Latin American Spanish: ave de corral
All related terms of 'fowl'
moorfowl
→ red grouse
fowl mite
any of various mites parasitic in birds, usually bloodsucking and including the red fowl mite ( Dermanyssus gallinae ) and the northern fowl mite ( Ornithonyssus sylviarum ), both pests of poultry
fowl pest
an acute and usually fatal viral disease of domestic fowl , characterized by refusal to eat, high temperature, and discoloration of the comb and wattles
game fowl
any of several breeds of domestic fowl reared for cockfighting
guinea fowl
A guinea fowl is a large grey African bird that is often eaten as food.
jungle fowl
any small gallinaceous bird of the genus Gallus , of S and SE Asia , the males of which have an arched tail and a combed and wattled head: family Phasianidae ( pheasants ). G . gallus ( red jungle fowl ) is thought to be the ancestor of the domestic fowl
mallee fowl
an Australian megapode , Leipoa ocellata, that allows its eggs to incubate naturally in a sandy mound
scrub fowl
any ground-living gallinaceous bird of the family Megapodiidae, of Australia, New Guinea , and adjacent islands. Their eggs incubate in mounds of sand , rotting vegetation , etc, by natural heat
barnyard fowl
a domesticated gallinaceous bird thought to be descended from the red jungle fowl ( Gallus gallus ) and occurring in many varieties
domestic fowl
a domesticated gallinaceous bird thought to be descended from the red jungle fowl ( Gallus gallus ) and occurring in many varieties
fowl cholera
a contagious disease of poultry and other fowl , usually resulting in sudden death; caused by the organism Pasteurella multocida
red jungle fowl
See under jungle fowl
wildfowl
Wildfowl are birds such as ducks, swans , and geese that live close to lakes or rivers .
prairie chicken
either of two mottled brown-and-white grouse , Tympanuchus cupido or T . pallidicinctus, of North America
be neither fish nor fowl
to seem partly one thing and partly another, and be difficult to identify , classify , or understand