What Is the Origin of the Turkey

[Subdeacon Joe]

The name, anyway. 

 

 

[Alpo]

She seems to be making it more complicated than it is.

 

It is called a turkey because that's the English name for it. We call it turkey because we speak English. It does not matter what the French call it, it does not matter what the cambodians call it, it does not matter what the Russians call it. Because we do not speak French and we do not speak Cambodian and we do not speak Russian. We speak English and the English call it a turkey so it is a turkey.

 

Why did the English call it a turkey? Because it was a really weird looking bird like nothing they had ever seen before, and everyone knows that that really weird crap that doesn't look like anything anyone has ever seen before comes from the Orient. It comes from the East. It comes from Turkey.

 

Any other names is just extraneous BS.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

Like why is the Bison called Buffalo.

[Rye Miles #13621]

7 hours ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

Like why is the Bison called Buffalo.

Well they’re actually two different animals

 

 

Why the confusion?

 

 

When early European settlers saw bison, they mistakenly called them “buffalo,” and the name stuck in American culture. That’s why we say “buffalo nickel” or “Buffalo, NY.”

 

 

 

• Bison = North America, hump, shaggy fur.
• Buffalo = Africa/Asia, no hump, big horns.

 

Edited November 28, 2025 by Rye Miles #13621

[Subdeacon Joe]

12 hours ago, Alpo said:

She seems to be making it more complicated than it is.

 

It is called a turkey because that's the English name for it. We call it turkey because we speak English. It does not matter what the French call it, it does not matter what the cambodians call it, it does not matter what the Russians call it. Because we do not speak French and we do not speak Cambodian and we do not speak Russian. We speak English and the English call it a turkey so it is a turkey.

 

Why did the English call it a turkey? Because it was a really weird looking bird like nothing they had ever seen before, and everyone knows that that really weird crap that doesn't look like anything anyone has ever seen before comes from the Orient. It comes from the East. It comes from Turkey.

 

Any other names is just extraneous BS.

 

 

You're missing the point.  Whichever Englishmen saw Meleagris gallopavo and named the bird "Turkey" thought it originated in Türkiye. Turks, and most Europeans thought they came from India, Arabs thought they were Italian or Greek, Greeks thought they were Italian, Pacific Islanders thought they were Dutch, and Indians thought they came from Peru.  They were closest, as its likely origin was Mexico. 

An aside, using your "because that's what the English named it" theory, we should be calling corn "turkish wheat," or possibly "Indian" for "Indian Corn," corn being the term for any grain, see "barleycorn" (which is also a unit of measure equal to 1/3 of an inch) and pumpkins "turkish cucumbers."  Those seem to be the original English names.

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

Jewish !

 

[Rye Miles #13621]

Here what chatgbt has to say,

 

 

• In the 1500s, Europeans were already familiar with a bird called the “Guinea fowl.”
• Guinea fowl were imported to Europe through Turkish (Ottoman) trade routes, so people called them “turkey fowl” or “turkey birds.”
• When Europeans later encountered the American wild turkey, they mistakenly believed it was a type of turkey fowl because it looked similar to the Guinea fowl.
• So the new American bird inherited the old name, and it stuck: “turkey.

 

 

 

[Subdeacon Joe]

9 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

Here what chatgbt has to say,

 

 

• In the 1500s, Europeans were already familiar with a bird called the “Guinea fowl.”
• Guinea fowl were imported to Europe through Turkish (Ottoman) trade routes, so people called them “turkey fowl” or “turkey birds.”
• When Europeans later encountered the American wild turkey, they mistakenly believed it was a type of turkey fowl because it looked similar to the Guinea fowl.
• So the new American bird inherited the old name, and it stuck: “turkey.

 

 

 

 

Oh....I've really wanted to do this:

 

THAT'S AI!!!!!!

 

  

 

 

That's true of the 16th century English, who saw almost everything exotic as Turkish.  It doesn't explain why most of Europe calls it some form of "Indian Chicken."

Edited November 28, 2025 by Subdeacon Joe

[Rye Miles #13621]

40 minutes ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

Oh....I've really wanted to do this:

 

THAT'S AI!!!!!!

 

  

 

 

That's true of the 16th century English, who saw almost everything exotic as Turkish.  It doesn't explain why most of Europe calls it some form of "Indian Chicken."

Chatgbt says this…….

 

 

 

Why “Indian” chicken?

 

 

When European explorers first reached the Americas, many of them believed they had reached the Indies (a term Europeans used for South and Southeast Asia).

 

Because of that:

 

• They called Indigenous Americans “Indians.”
• Animals and plants from the New World were often labeled as coming from India or the Indies.

 

 

So when Europeans encountered the wild turkey in North America, they assumed it was a bird from the Indies, and named it accordingly.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

Oh Cummon > > > > Simple:

 

AN EGG!!  Sheesh

[Stump Water]

And the definitive reason why turkey is the traditional Thanksgiving fare.

 

 

[Trailrider #896]

Origin of the turkey? Probably the same as other birds...descended from the flying dinosaurs! 

Edited November 28, 2025 by Trailrider #896

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

About wild Turkey behavior.

 

sometimes a flock will come into the city and start pick through garbage. 
 

Fish&Game found that if those city birds are moved to the woods they will teach more flocks how to become citified and forget how to forage in the woods.

[Alpo]

43 minutes ago, Stump Water said:

And the definitive reason why turkey is the traditional Thanksgiving fare.

 

 

Who is the little blonde kid?

 

The girl is Stephanie. That's Edith's neice. And she's Jewish. I don't remember why she moved in with the bunkers but she moved in after Mike finally got it in one sock and he and Gloria moved out. They needed somebody to have a family so they got Stephanie.

 

I remember Gloria had a kid - Joey? - but I don't think he would be old enough to be that little blonde kid.

 

I remember soon after Stephanie arrived they were talking about The Last supper, and Stephanie said that she knew what they had. And then she lists it. Archie wanted to know how she could possibly know that and she explained that it was Seder.

 

Well, what's Seder little goil?

 

It's the first day of Passover.

 

And just how do you know dat?

 

Because I'm Jewish.

 

 

Freaked Archie big time.

[Sedalia Dave]

4 hours ago, Alpo said:

Who is the little blonde kid?

 

The girl is Stephanie. That's Edith's neice. And she's Jewish. I don't remember why she moved in with the bunkers but she moved in after Mike finally got it in one sock and he and Gloria moved out. They needed somebody to have a family so they got Stephanie.

 

I remember Gloria had a kid - Joey? - but I don't think he would be old enough to be that little blonde kid.

 

I remember soon after Stephanie arrived they were talking about The Last supper, and Stephanie said that she knew what they had. And then she lists it. Archie wanted to know how she could possibly know that and she explained that it was Seder.

 

Well, what's Seder little goil?

 

It's the first day of Passover.

 

And just how do you know dat?

 

Because I'm Jewish.

 

 

Freaked Archie big time.

 

IMDB says it's Joey.

[Stump Water]

15 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

IMDB says it's Joey.

 

I was gonna say Miles Sandwich.

[Subdeacon Joe]