[Lexicog] Turkey

[Alan H. Hartley]

Koontz John E wrote:

> I think the connection there might be Latin pavo 'peacock'.  The second
> part of the Linneaan binominal, gallopavo, would be a compound with
> gallus 'cock chicken'.  I'm not sure, but I believe gallopavo would be a
> Linneaan concoction from the Latin forms.  I think that Spanish pavo would
> be a learned term borrowed from Latin.

Sp. pavo dates from c.1300, when it meant 'peacock'. The simplex term 
came to be applied to the turkey, and the peacock has since been called 
pavo real 'royal [true] turkey'.