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Glite Dictionary
fowl pest

fowl pest

9.3
A serious viral disease in chickens and farm birds that causes high fever, loss of appetite, and a dark comb
  • noun
  • /faʊl pɛst/
  • Archaic
translation icon : peste aviar
  • The farmers lost several chickens to fowl pest during last year's outbreak.

Examples

  • Veterinarians advised strict biosecurity measures to prevent fowl pest on poultry farms.

  • Early detection of fowl pest is crucial to control its spread among domestic birds.

  • The outbreak of fowl pest affected many farms last year.

  • Farmers are concerned about fowl pest this season.

  • Early detection of fowl pest is crucial to control its spread among domestic birds.

  • The farmers lost several chickens to fowl pest during last year's outbreak.

  • Veterinarians advised strict biosecurity measures to prevent fowl pest on poultry farms.

Surface Forms

fowl pest singular
fowl pests plural

Morphology

fowl + pest

The meaning 'a disease affecting domestic birds' is directly and compositionaly derived from 'fowl' (domestic bird) + 'pest' (an epidemic disease). This literal noun+noun pattern is common and mirrors equivalent constructions in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

The name fowl pest comes from old uses of pest to mean a deadly 'plague' and fowl for farm birds, giving a strong image of a terrible sickness of birds. That's why fowl pest now means a serious disease that makes chickens stop eating, get a very high fever, and sometimes change the colour of their combs.