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Turkey

3 stages from Old Turkic to English.

Today it means a large bird native to North America, domesticated for its meat

Where does the word "turkey" come from? It comes from Old Turkic Türük, passing through Medieval Latin before entering English (1540s).

Türük→Turcus→turkey

Old Turkic · 700s

the Orkhon inscriptions of the 730s record the Turks' own name

Medieval Latin · medieval

Europeans used it for the Seljuk and then the Ottoman Turks

English · 1540s

"guinea fowl, then the American bird"

first the guinea fowl, which reached England through Ottoman trade routes; the name passed to the similar American bird that the Spanish brought to Europe

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Turkey’s story begins in Old Turkic: Türük meant “Turk.” The Orkhon inscriptions of the 730s record the Turks' own name. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Medieval Latin as Turcus. Europeans used it for the Seljuk and then the Ottoman Turks. It reached English by 1540s as turkey. First the guinea fowl, which reached England through Ottoman trade routes; the name passed to the similar American bird that the Spanish brought to Europe. Today, turkey means a large bird native to North America, domesticated for its meat.