fowl

/faʊl/

/faʊəl/

Other forms: fowls; fowling; fowled

The noun fowl usually means domesticated birds kept for eating or producing eggs. If your friend brings you eggs from the chickens she keeps in her back yard, you can say that she has pet fowl.

Fowl comes from the Old English fugel, "bird," meant simply that — "bird." Today, fowl usually refers specifically to chickens or other kinds of domesticated birds that lay eggs or are raised to be eaten. Occasionally, fowl is used interchangeably with poultry, to mean the flesh of that same kind of bird when it's eaten; you could describe your family as being fond of pork, beef, and fowl.

Definitions of fowl

1. noun

   a domesticated gallinaceous bird thought to be descended from the red jungle fowl
   synonyms: domestic fowl, poultry

   types:

   Dorking

   an English breed of large domestic fowl having five toes (the hind toe doubled)

   Plymouth Rock

   an American breed of domestic fowl

   Cornish, Cornish fowl

   English breed of compact domestic fowl; raised primarily to crossbreed to produce roasters

   Rock Cornish

   small plump hybrid developed by crossbreeding Plymouth Rock and Cornish fowl

   game fowl

   any of several breeds reared for cockfighting

   cochin, cochin china

   Asian breed of large fowl with dense plumage and feathered legs

   Gallus gallus, chicken

   a domestic fowl bred for flesh or eggs; believed to have been developed from the red jungle fowl

   bantam

   any of various small breeds of fowl

   Meleagris gallopavo, turkey

   large gallinaceous bird with fan-shaped tail; widely domesticated for food

   Numida meleagris, guinea, guinea fowl

   a west African bird having dark plumage mottled with white; native to Africa but raised for food in many parts of the world

   biddy, chick

   young bird especially of domestic fowl

   cock, rooster

   adult male chicken

   capon

   castrated male chicken

   biddy, hen

   adult female chicken

   spring chicken

   a young chicken having tender meat

   Rhode Island red

   American breed of heavy-bodied brownish-red general-purpose chicken

   Dominick, Dominique

   American breed of chicken having barred grey plumage raised for meat and brown eggs

   Orpington

   English breed of large chickens with white skin

   gobbler, tom, tom turkey, turkey cock

   male turkey

   guinea hen

   female guinea fowl

   type of:

   gallinacean, gallinaceous bird

   heavy-bodied largely ground-feeding domestic or game birds
2. noun

   the flesh of a bird or fowl (wild or domestic) used as food
   synonyms: bird

   types:

   poultry

   flesh of chickens or turkeys or ducks or geese raised for food

   wildfowl

   flesh of any of a number of wild game birds suitable for food

   chicken, poulet, volaille

   the flesh of a chicken used for food

   Rock Cornish hen

   flesh of a small fowl bred for roasting

   guinea hen

   flesh of a guinea fowl (especially of hens)

   dove, squab

   flesh of a pigeon suitable for roasting or braising; flesh of a dove (young squab) may be broiled

   duck

   flesh of a duck (domestic or wild)

   goose

   flesh of a goose (domestic or wild)

   grouse

   flesh of any of various grouse of the family Tetraonidae; usually roasted; flesh too dry to broil

   quail

   flesh of quail; suitable for roasting or broiling if young; otherwise must be braised

   partridge

   flesh of either quail or grouse

   pheasant

   flesh of a pheasant; usually braised

   turkey

   flesh of large domesticated fowl usually roasted

   type of:

   meat

   the flesh of animals (including fishes and birds and snails) used as food
3. verb

   hunt fowl
   type of:

   hunt, hunt down, run, track down

   pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals)
4. verb

   hunt fowl in the forest
   types:

   grouse

   hunt grouse

   type of:

   hunt, hunt down, run, track down

   pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals)