gallinaceous bird

8.6

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

noun
/ˌɡælɪˈneɪʃəs bɜrd/

Specialized

: ave gallinácea

The chicken is perhaps the most familiar gallinaceous bird in the world.

Examples

Many gallinaceous birds spend much of their lives foraging on the ground for seeds and insects.
Wild turkeys are a native North American gallinaceous bird species prized by hunters.
A gallinaceous bird is often found on farms.
Many gallinaceous birds are raised for their eggs.
The farmer raises several types of gallinaceous birds including chickens and turkeys for their eggs and meat.
During the wildlife tour, we spotted a gallinaceous bird known as a pheasant roaming freely in the grassy field.
At the local farm, children enjoy feeding the gallinaceous birds that come running when they hear the food bag rustling.

Synonyms

game bird

vsgallinaceous bird

1 3.2

A bird like a pheasant that people hunt for food or sport

is used for birds mainly kept for food or sport rather than hunted

gallinacean

vsgallinaceous bird

Specialized

9.9

A large heavy bird like a chicken or turkey that feeds on the ground

is the common name used in everyday speech rather than a scientific label

Surface Forms

gallinaceous bird singular

gallinaceous birds plural

Morphology

gallinaceous + bird

The adjective 'gallinaceous' directly names a class of birds (chicken-, turkey-like), so combining it with 'bird' yields a compositional meaning: a bird of the gallinaceous type (heavy-bodied, ground-dwelling). This adjective+noun structure is transparent and follows a common cross-linguistic pattern, so a learner who knows the constituent meanings can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Gallinaceous bird comes from the Latin word gallina, meaning 'hen', so it literally describes birds that are 'like a hen', heavy, ground-dwelling birds such as chickens, turkeys, and pheasants. That's why the phrase today refers to those farm or wild birds kept for food or sport.