Where does the word Turkey come from?

If you’re an American (or aspiring to be one), you probably read this and thought of the juicy, emblematic bird that many families will eat (or, at the highest ranks, pardon) this weekend. If your heart is closer to the other side of the Atlantic, you probably thought of the beautiful country that gave us some of the best dishes available to humanity.

I was particularly interested in why this ceremonial American bird and exquisite country share the same name, more so than in the actual etymology of the word. I’ll tell you the tale, but really it boils down to 1) a lack of imagination on the part of the people given the license to name these objects hundreds of years ago, and 2) some arrogance by humans to name other creatures based on their own constructed identities for each other. If you want a much more academic explanation, you should read this piece, but frankly I think it slices the baloney (or turkey) too thin.

A few other fundamental “facts” to lay the groundwork: First, “Turks” are an ethnic group* and people in historic times referred to this group by that name, long before the country Turkey was born. Second, people in these historic times were transplanting all kinds of things between continents, largely to satisfy the egos of and entertain those in power (remember: these poor souls didn’t have social media). Third, humans have a tendency to name things by slapping together existing words as ingredients, and sometimes more clumsily by using the word for a related but distinctly different object because that’s what first popped into their mind (no old people, all tablets aren’t iPads).

Okay…that was a lot of groundwork. Thanks for staying with me! Believe me it was worth it.

As with any topic this exhilarating, there are passionate intellectuals fiercely debating the exact sequence of events. But I think the audience here will be satisfied with this gist: About 600 years ago, Europeans imported a bird called the guinea fowl, named as such because it was from the country Guinea, in Western Africa. They did so because “collecting exotic animals was a hobby of Renaissance princes and the wealthy, and guinea fowl appeared in their royal parks and private menageries.”

The Mamluk Sultanate, which controlled Egypt and modern-day Israel and Lebanon at this point, served as a supplier. The Mamluks were ethnically Turkish (most were from the Caucasus), and the birds became known as “galinias turcicas” or “Turkish chickens.”

And apparently they didn’t go around saying “Turkish chickens”, but instead said “turkey-cock or turkey-hen”.

So — Europeans imported a bird from another continent, named it based on the people selling it to them, and screwed up describing the actual type of bird they’re buying.

Next, British arrived in America (and called part of it New England — are you seeing a pattern?).

When British settlers got off the Mayflower in Massachusetts Bay Colony and saw their first American woodland fowl, even though it is larger than the African Guinea fowl, they decided to call it by the name they already used for the African bird. Wild forest birds like that were called “turkeys” at home.

The tragedy is all this was happening hundreds of years before the beautiful country Turkey was even born. So this unintelligent bird got its name several years before the country was formalized. (Meaning..ahem, even dictionary.com got this story wrong in its “key takeaway”. Yes, yours truly is apparently more thorough in their research). The reason behind naming the country Turkey shouldn’t be a surprise. If you’re wondering where the ethnic name Turk originated from, do find out and let me know!

Oh..the fun doesn’t end here. The historical analysis does, but not the fun.

The word for turkey in Turkish is hindi.

What? OK, so what’s the Hindi word for turkey?

Turns out that the word for turkey in Hindi is टर्की. And that, if you don’t know Devanagari, is transcribed ṭarkī in the Latin alphabet. Which looks an awful lot like turkey again.

Yep, the author unpacks that more here. And more along this line of absurdity is detailed here.

Here are some practical next steps for you:

• The next time you’re at a Thanksgiving meal, or just conversing with Americans about turkey, consider calling it a “huehxolotl” instead.

the turkey does have many authentically American names — Americans just choose not to use them. After all, pre-Aztec and Aztec peoples domesticated the turkey more than a millennium before Columbus reached the New World (the Aztecs called the bird huehxolotl).

• If you’re among those lucky few who sometimes get asked if they know Hindi, consider replying with “well I don’t frequently befriend birds”.
• The next time you travel to Turkey or meet Turkish person(s), ask someone if they know why this bird loved in America shares a name with their homeland. When they likely say no, revel in sounding smart.

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*I’m sure I’ve oversimplified this, but that is due to a lack of strong historical knowledge and not an intention to be insulting. Any ignorance is caused by a lack of competence to delve into this topic, rather than by disdain.