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guinea fowl

guinea fowl

1 6.5
A farm bird from Africa with dark feathers and white spots, raised for meat and eggs
  • noun
  • /ˈɡɪni faʊl/
translation icon : pava de guinea
  • Since the introduction of guinea fowl to our farm, we have benefited from their natural pest control abilities.
  • guinea fowl and chickens

Ground feeding birds like chicken and Guinea fowl eat ticks.

Examples

  • Masa Miyake, however, has three acres behind his house where he raises all the produce and meat he uses in his restaurant Miyake—pigs, chickens, guinea fowl, and vegetables native to Japan.

    Blog text (10)
  • She did most of the gardening, raised chickens and guinea fowl, slopped the hogs, and lavished affection on the dogs that gathered beneath the front porch and in the space underneath the house.

    Academic text (1990)
  • The guinea fowl is proving more complicated than expected.

  • - Best guinea fowl I've ever tasted.

  • Chickens, pigs, cattle, and guinea fowl became a part of every Amazonian village scene within a couple of centuries.

    Academic text (2001)
  • We had 15 turkeys, 5 geese, 12 guinea fowl, and about 30 to 40 common fowls.

    Blog text (2)
  • The Claytons tried to raise the guinea fowl according to Jody's instructions, but they died off one by one, and in the end, even Janice lost her enthusiasm for them.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • We owned horses, dairy cows, goats, a few sheep, chickens, guinea fowl, geese, and semi-tame mallard ducks.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • The farmer raised guinea fowl for their delicious meat and nutritious eggs.

  • In many cultures, guinea fowl is celebrated as a delicacy during special occasions.

Synonyms

guinea
vsguinea fowl
58 7.9

A bird with dark feathers and white spots often raised for meat

is the general term for a domesticated African bird kept for meat and eggs
fowl
vsguinea fowl
7 2.2

A bird like a chicken kept for eggs or meat

is the specific African domesticated bird, not the general group of domestic birds
Numida meleagris
vsguinea fowl
  • South African
9.9

A bird from Africa like a chicken with dark feathers and white spots kept for meat and eggs

is the general domesticated African bird rather than the scientific name
guinea hen
vsguinea fowl
7.5

A female bird with grey spotted feathers like a chicken

is the same bird term but not limited to females
domestic fowl
vsguinea fowl
2.8

Birds like chickens and ducks that people keep for eggs or meat

is the specific African domesticated bird rather than any tamed species

Surface Forms

guinea fowl singular
guinea fowls plural

Morphology

guinea + fowl

The compound is compositional: 'guinea' specifies origin/type and 'fowl' denotes a domestic bird, so the meaning 'a type of fowl associated with Guinea' is directly derivable from the parts. This noun-noun formation is a common, cross-linguistic pattern and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Guinea fowl comes from birds that were brought to Europe long ago from the Guinea area of West Africa. Europeans called them guinea to show where they came from and fowl because they are birds, so the name means 'a bird from Guinea'.