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Glite Dictionary
gallinaceous

gallinaceous

9.9
Relating to birds like chickens or pheasants that usually live on the ground
  • adjective
  • /ˌɡælɪˈneɪʃəs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : gallináceo
  • At the wildlife reserve, they observed several gallinaceous species roaming freely.

Examples

  • The first is domesticated poultry, primarily chickens, but also a wide variety of gallinaceous and game birds.

    Academic text (2014)

  • The gallinaceous crowd forming in the vestibule was as large as the audience inside, and every two minutes I heard a strident voice cry out: "Don't go in!"

    Academic text (1990)

  • Before running your own chickens, be sure that quail, pheasant, turkeys, grouse, prairie chickens, or any other member of the chicken's avian family of gallinaceous birds live wild in the area, or did before civilization struck.

    Blog text (3)

  • The farmer raised a variety of gallinaceous birds, including chickens, turkeys, and quail.

  • The chef specializes in preparing dishes with various gallinaceous meats, such as pheasant and duck.

Compounds

gallinaceous bird
  • Specialized
8.6

A heavy ground bird like a chicken kept for meat or sport

Surface Forms

gallinaceous positive

Morphology

gallinaceous = gallin + aceous

The word is a learned Latinate adjective built with the suffix -aceous, but the stem gallin- is not a transparent modern English base, so most learners cannot infer the meaning from its parts.

Etymology

Gallinaceous comes from the Latin words gallina 'hen' and gallus 'rooster'. So, gallinaceous means 'like hens, chickens, turkeys, and other similar ground birds'.