fowl
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.birds that are kept on a farm for their meat or eggs, such as chickens, turkeys, and ducks.
n.birds belonging to the orders Galliformes or Anseriformes, typically raised or hunted for human consumption.
Simple“The farmer kept various types of fowl, including several noisy geese and chickens.”
In context“The local market specialised in wild fowl, offering seasonal game that was highly prized by the city's top chefs.”
UsageOften used as a collective noun; can be countable or uncountable depending on context.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
n.an old word for any kind of bird.
n.a general term for any bird, regardless of species or utility.
Simple“In the old story, the air was filled with every kind of fowl imaginable.”
In context“The poet described the 'fowls of the air' in a style that felt deliberately reminiscent of seventeenth-century scripture.”
Teacher's tipModern speakers almost exclusively use 'bird'; this sense is only found in historical texts or the Bible.
Synonyms - 03 C2 Proficiency
v.to hunt wild birds for food or sport.
v.to hunt, catch, or shoot wildfowl.
Simple“He spent his autumn weekends fowling in the marshes near the coast.”
In context“The estate manager granted the villagers limited rights to go fowling along the riverbanks during the winter months.”
UsageThe verb is usually intransitive.
Synonyms
From Middle English foul, foghel, fowel, fowele, from Old English fugol (“bird”), from Proto-West Germanic fugl, from Proto-Germanic fuglaz, dissimilated variant of fluglaz (compare Old English flugol ‘fleeing’, Mercian fluglas heofun ‘birds of the air’), from fleuganą (“to fly”). Cognate with West Frisian fûgel, Low German Vagel, Dutch vogel, German Vogel, Swedish fågel, Danish and Norwegian fugl. Doublet of voël. More at fly.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.