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Glite Dictionary
Cornish fowl

Cornish fowl

7.0
A small heavy English chicken often crossed with other chickens to make meat birds
  • noun
  • /ˈkɔrnɪʃ faʊl/
translation icon : pollo Cornish
  • The Cornish fowl is prized by farmers for its rapid growth and meaty body.

Examples

  • Many supermarkets sell roasters that are crossbreeds of the Cornish fowl.

  • The agricultural show featured a champion Cornish fowl in the poultry section.

  • The Cornish fowl is known for its tender meat.

  • Many farmers raise Cornish fowls for their meat.

  • The Cornish fowl is known for producing high-quality meat that is sought after by chefs.

  • Farmers prefer the Cornish fowl because it grows quickly and has a robust build.

  • At the poultry competition, the winner was a beautiful Cornish fowl with glossy feathers.

Synonyms

Cornish
vsCornish fowl
8.1

A British chicken breed with a broad body raised for meat

is raised mainly for crossbreeding rather than direct meat production

Surface Forms

Cornish fowl singular
Cornish fowls plural

Morphology

Cornish + fowl

The phrase is a straightforward noun phrase combining 'Cornish' (pertaining to Cornwall or a Cornish breed) with 'fowl' (domestic bird), so its meaning as a type of chicken/breed is directly inferable from the parts. This follows ordinary adjective + noun composition in English, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand it refers to a specific kind of bird, typically raised for meat.

Etymology

Cornish fowl comes from Cornwall in England: Cornish shows where the bird was first bred and fowl simply means a domestic bird. Farmers in that area bred a short, heavy chicken for 'meat', so the name now refers to that compact, meaty breed used for roasters and crossbreeding.