Definition of 'fowl'
Word forms: fowlslanguage note: Fowl can also be used as the plural form.
countable noun
A fowl is a bird, especially one that can be eaten as food, such as a duck or a chicken.
Synonyms: poultry More Synonyms of fowl
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency
fowl in American English
nounWord forms: plural fowls or fowl
1.
any bird
now only in combination wildfowl
2.
any of various domestic birds used as food
; specif.,a.
the chicken
c.
a full-grown chicken, as distinguished from a springer, etc.
3.
the flesh of any of these birds used for food
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
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- > fly1Word Frequency
fowl in American Englishesp collectively
(faul) (noun plural fowls, fowl)
noun
2.
any of several other, usually gallinaceous, birds that are barnyard, domesticated, or wild, as the duck, turkey, or pheasant
3. (in market and household use)
4.
the flesh or meat of a domestic fowl
5. (used chiefly in combination)
any bird
waterfowl
wildfowl
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[bef. 900; ME foul, OE fugol, fugel; c. OS fugal, Goth fugls, OHG fogal (G Vogel)]Word Frequency
fowl in British English
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
Old English fugol; related to Old Frisian fugel, Old Norse fogl, Gothic fugls, Old High German fogalExamples of 'fowl' in a sentence
fowl
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fowl
British English: fowl
NOUN /faʊl/
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 /ˈfaʊl/
- 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)
- Spanish: ave de corral
- Thai: สัตว์ปีก
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Definition of fowl from the Collins English Dictionary
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