guinea fowl

noun

: an African bird (Numida meleagris) related to the pheasants, raised for food in many parts of the world, and marked by a bare neck and head and slaty plumage speckled with white
broadly : any of several related birds

Illustration of guinea fowl

Illustration of guinea fowl

Examples of guinea fowl in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Ratatouille, veal blanquette, guinea fowl wrapped in cabbage, boeuf bourguignon and fondue weren’t fancy company cooking. Jamie Schler, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024 Or was suddenly on an empty Hollywood movie set — still and quiet, except for the sounds of wandering chickens and guinea fowl. Edward M. Eveld, Kansas City Star, 25 Jan. 2024 The garden has a busy poultry house filled with clucking guinea fowl and laying hens. Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 16 Jan. 2024 During the Ottoman Empire, guinea fowl were exported from East Africa via Turkey to Europe, and Europeans started calling the birds turkey-cocks or turkey-hens due to the trade route. House Beautiful, 18 Aug. 2023 Instead of being brought to The Gentle Barn or being part of a rescue effort, the guinea fowl just appeared. Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 21 Apr. 2023 Later, in what felt like the middle of the night, some guinea fowl cackled. Jeffrey Gettleman, Travel + Leisure, 17 Apr. 2023 Carried by free-flying waterfowl — such as ducks, geese and shorebirds, and infecting chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, domestic ducks, geese and guinea fowl — the outbreaks are pushing up the price of two commodities that are daily fixtures in the American diet. Kate Gibson, CBS News, 5 May 2022 Snippets of conversation sometimes get drowned out by an orchestra of farm animals — bleating goats, chattering guinea fowl and braying donkeys. Alex Traub, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'guinea fowl.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1749, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of guinea fowl was in 1749

Dictionary Entries Near guinea fowl

Cite this Entry

“Guinea fowl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guinea%20fowl. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

guinea fowl

noun
guin·​ea fowl
ˈgin-ē-
: a gray and white spotted African bird related to the pheasants that has a bare neck and head and is widely raised for food

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