Fowl Was Once the General Word for Bird
A fowl is a bird kept for meat or eggs. The Old English word meant any bird at all.
A fowl is a domesticated bird kept for meat or eggs, or a wild game bird. Old English *fugol* meant simply a bird, and it was the everyday word until *bird* — which had meant a nestling — took over and pushed *fowl* into its narrow modern use. German *Vogel* still carries the general sense. The King James Bible uses *fowls of the air* where a modern translation says birds, preserving the older meaning in familiar language.
- A domestic bird. *Farmyard fowl.*
- Any bird (archaic). *Fowls of the air.*
- Wildfowl. *Wildfowl.*
- Bird — which replaced it. *A bird.*
- Old English — *fugol*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | fowl | A fowl. |
| Plural | fowl | Six fowl. |
| Compound | wildfowl | Wildfowl. |
| Verb | fowling | Fowling. |
| German | Vogel | A bird. |
- They kept fowl in the yard.Farm.
- Fowls of the air.Archaic.
- Vogel still means bird.German.
Words pushed aside by others
- Fowl — narrowed when bird took the general sense
- Hound — narrowed when dog spread
- Deer — narrowed from any animal
- Meat — once meant food in general
- Starve — once meant simply to die
Old English *fugol*, a bird, of Germanic origin, related to German *Vogel*.
Did fowl always mean poultry?
No. It was the ordinary word for any bird until bird, which had meant a nestling, displaced it.
Which other words narrowed like this?
Hound narrowed when dog spread, deer narrowed from any animal, and meat once meant food in general.