The origin of the name “turkey” is a fascinating tale of mistaken identity and centuries of global trade. Every Thanksgiving Americans sit down to dine on turkey. But is this iconic holiday bird named after the nation of Turkey? Let’s talk turkey and get to the bottom of this mystery.
Turkey the Country
The country of Turkey is named after its inhabitants, the Turks. The word “Turkey” first showed up in English texts around the 14th century to refer to the land occupied by the Turks. Some of the earliest recorded uses were by Geoffrey Chaucer in the Canterbury Tales. By the early 15th century, “Turkey” was established as a place name in the English language.
Turkey the Bird
Now this is where things get interesting. The turkey on American tables is not named after the country! In fact, European explorers mistakenly thought the bird came from Turkey. Here’s how the mix-up happened:
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There was an African bird called the guinea fowl that was imported to Europe via Turkish merchants. Since the bird came through Turkish lands, Europeans called them “turkey cocks” and “turkey hens.”
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When English settlers in North America saw wild turkeys, they thought they were guinea fowls. The two birds do resemble each other. So the settlers called them turkeys too.
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But the American turkey and the African guinea fowl are completely different species! The settlers simply made a mistake.
Over time, people realized the birds weren’t the same. The guinea fowl went back to its original name, while the American turkey kept the mistaken moniker.
The American turkey actually originated in North America and was a major food source for Native Americans long before the colonists arrived. Some key facts:
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Wild turkeys have inhabited North America for over 20 million years.
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Native Americans domesticated wild turkeys in what is now Mexico hundreds of years before Europeans reached the continent.
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Aztecs and other indigenous peoples relied on turkeys as a staple food.
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English settlers first encountered the bird in the early 17th century and assumed it was a turkey-cock or turkey-hen.
How the Turkey Tradition Took Off
Though a fluke, the name “turkey” stuck once the American bird made its way across the Atlantic. Here’s a timeline showing the turkey’s rise to fame:
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1575: The English were serving the American turkey for Christmas dinner.
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1624: John Smith wrote about turkeys in his book on the New World.
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1843: Charles Dickens mentioned turkey with gravy in A Christmas Carol, popularizing turkey in the Old World.
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1863: Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. Turkey was already gaining traction as the main dish.
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Today: 88% of Americans chow down on turkey for Thanksgiving, according to the National Turkey Federation.
So while the turkey’s name has convoluted origins, the bird has certainly earned its place on plates across America. When we sit down for Thanksgiving dinner, we can thank those confused explorers for giving us our tasty centerpiece!
Tracking the Turkey’s Twisted Path
Let’s do a quick recap of the turkey’s curious history:
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Turkey was established as a place name referring to land ruled by the Turks.
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Europeans called African guinea fowl “turkey-cocks” since they were imported via Turkey.
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Settlers saw wild American turkeys and assumed they were a kind of guinea fowl.
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But the birds are totally unrelated species—it was a simple case of mistaken identity!
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The guinea fowl reverted to its original name, but the American bird stuck with the mistaken moniker “turkey.”
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The North American turkey then became a hit in Europe and later America after making its way across the Atlantic.
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Today the turkey remains a symbol of Thanksgiving feasts, even though its name has no relationship to the country.
So in the epic battle of Turkey versus turkey, the country came first! The bird was named later based on some creative logic by the early European colonists and explorers. Next Thanksgiving when you bite into a succulent turkey drumstick, remember the winding, globetrotting journey that gave us this delicious holiday centerpiece!
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THE HISTORY OF TURKEY in 10 minutes
FAQ
Which turkey was first?
The wild turkey species is the ancestor of the domestic turkey, which was domesticated approximately 2,000 years ago by indigenous peoples. It was this domesticated turkey that later reached Eurasia, during the Columbian exchange.
What was the original breed of turkey?
All of our modern-day domestic turkeys originate from the tamed Aztec birds from southern Mexico. And the wild progenitor of these birds was the sixth “South Mexican” subspecies. Anasazi-bred domestic turkeys from the Four Corners region had their roots in the Eastern and Rio Grande subspecies.
Where did turkeys first come from?
Domestic turkeys come from the Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), a species that is native only to the Americas. In the 1500s, Spanish traders brought some that had been domesticated by indigenous Americans to Europe and Asia.
What country was Turkey before 1923?
Turkish history extends back thousands of years before the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923. Turks, originally a nomadic people from Central Asia, established several empires, including the Seljuk Empire and later the Ottoman Empire, which was founded in Anatolia by Turkish ruler Osman in 1299.
Where did turkey birds come from?
Purchasers of the birds back home in England thought the fowl came from the area, hence the name “Turkey birds” or, soon thereafter, “turkeys.” Not all languages follow this misconception. Others, such as Hebrew get the origin just as wrong, but in the other direction.
Where do turkeys come from?
It’s descended from a wild turkey from the central and eastern states. Its other close relative, Meleagris ocellata, is indigenous to parts of Mexico. In fact, it’s believed all domestic turkeys in the US ultimately descend from these Mexican wild turkeys. Wild turkeys have called North America home for some 20 million years.
Why is Turkey called Turkestan?
Turkestan, also meaning the “land of the Turks”, was used for a historic region in Central Asia. Middle English usage of Turkye or Turkeye is found in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Book of the Duchess (written in 1369–1372) to refer to Anatolia or Ottoman Empire. The modern spelling Turkey dates back to at least 1719.
Why are turkeys called guinea fowl?
Then, as trans-Atlantic trade developed in the 16th century, North American turkeys were confused with guinea fowl. Consequently, “the English word ‘turkey cock’ or ‘cocks of Inde,’ and the French word ‘poules d’Inde,’” Jurafsky writes, “were used sometimes for turkeys, sometimes for guinea fowl, for the next hundred years.”
Are American turkeys the same as Aztec turkeys?
In reality, the two birds are different species. The American turkey was indigenous to North and Central America, where it was a staple of Indigenous diets; the Aztecs had domesticated turkeys in what is now Mexico hundreds of years before the Europeans arrived. “This is a very human problem,” says Adams.