poultry
POHL-tree
/ˈpoʊltri/
Domesticated birds kept for eggs or meat, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese.
A collective noun. It is used in commercial, agricultural, and culinary contexts to group all domestic bird meats together.
The story behind the word. Traces back to the Latin pullus, meaning a young animal or chick. This became poulet in Old French, which then gave rise to pouletrie (the place where poultry is kept or sold), eventually entering English as poultry.
Word relationships
- fowl: Fowl is an older, more biological term that can include wild birds, whereas poultry strictly refers to domesticated birds raised for food.
Commonly confused with
- game: Game refers to wild animals hunted for sport or food, whereas poultry refers to domesticated, farmed birds.
Word family
- poulterer (noun): A person who sells poultry.
Collocations
- poultry farm
- poultry section
- fresh poultry
Example sentences
- "The butcher directed us to the poultry aisle for fresh chicken breasts and duck legs." Supermarket organization.
- "The local farm expanded its operations to include both organic dairy and free-range poultry." Agricultural report.
Memory hook
A poultry farm has poles for chickens to roost on. Farmed feathered friends.
When not to use
Do not use to refer to wild game birds (like pheasants or wild quail) unless they have been domesticated and farmed.
Fun facts
- Chickens were originally domesticated not for food, but for cockfighting, thousands of years ago in Southeast Asia.
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