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Glite Dictionary
game fowl

game fowl

9.1
A farm bird bred to fight, often roosters used in cockfights
  • noun
  • /ɡeɪm faʊl/
  • NSFW
translation icon : gallo de pelea
  • The farmer trained his game fowl to ensure they excelled in the arena.

Examples

  • This is game fowl.

    Solomon (1997)

  • Breeders carefully select game fowl for their exceptional fighting abilities.

  • In many cultures, game fowl are raised specifically for cockfighting competitions.

Synonyms

gamecock
vsgame fowl
1 9.9

A rooster bred and trained to fight other roosters

is the wider class including many breeds reared for fighting rather than single fighters
fighting cock
vsgame fowl
  • NSFW
1 9.1

A male chicken bred and trained to fight other roosters

is a wider group including breeds reared for fighting ability

How Aggressive

fighting cock
  • NSFW
1 9.1
game fowl
  • NSFW
9.1
poultry
40 1.9

Surface Forms

game fowl singular
game fowls plural

Morphology

game + fowl

A B1 learner who knows 'game' (animals for sport) and 'fowl' (domestic bird) can infer that 'game fowl' refers to birds associated with sport or hunting, so the general idea is partially derivable. However, the specific sense — domestic birds bred or kept for fighting (cockfighting) rather than simply wild game birds — is a conventionalized nuance that is not fully predictable from the parts, making it only partially transparent.

Etymology

The term game fowl comes from the old use of game to mean 'sport' or 'fight' and fowl to mean birds. People bred these birds to take part in cockfights, so game fowl means birds kept for 'fighting'.