Turkey

Turkey (pronounced tur-kee)

(1) A large, gallinaceous bird of the family Meleagrididae, especially Meleagris gallopavo, of America, typically of green, reddish-brown, and yellowish-brown plumage of a metallic luster; domesticated in most parts of the world.

(2) The flesh of this bird, used as food.

(3) Any of a number of other similar birds, so described.

(4) As Turkey, the former name of Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (Republic of Türkiye).

(5) In slang, a person or thing of little appeal; dud; loser; a naive, stupid, or inept person.

(6) In the slang of the theatre, an unsuccessful production; a flop (a synonym of “a bomb” in some countries, an antonym in others); now used beyond the theatre and applied to just about any failed product including political candidates or policies.

(7) In ten-pin bowling, three strikes in succession.

(8) In the (derogatory) slang of clinical medicine, a patient feigning symptoms, illness or injury; a malingerer.

(9) In rural slang (US & Australia), a pack carried by a lumberman; a bindle; also, a large travel bag, a suitcase (archaic).

1545–1555: A short for Turkey cock and Turkey hen (“cock of Turkey” & “hen of Turkey”), applied firstly to guinea fowl (apparently because the bird was brought through Turkish territory) and later (erroneously) to the American bird.  The noun plural is turkeys by depending on context, turkey can be a plural.  The erroneous “turkies” & “turkies” does occasionally appear because of a belief all nouns ending in "y" should form a plural ending in "ies". When a noun ends with [vowel] + y, only an appended "s" is needed to form the plural.

Tararind and honey-glazed roast turkey, before & after.

The clipping of turkey-cock (male) and turkey-hen (female) applied originally to the guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) which was brought to Europe (via Turkey) from Madagascar by Portuguese traders who really were called “turkey merchants”.  In English, the word turkey was first applied to the bird in the 1550s, either because it was identified with or treated as a species of the guinea fowl or because reached wider Europe from Spain by way of North Africa, then under Ottoman (Turkish) rule.  For the same reason, in English, Indian corn was originally “turkey corn” or “turkey wheat”.  The word was subsequently applied to the larger northern American fowl (Meleagris gallopavo) which conquistadors had brought to Spain in 1523 after finding the species had been domesticated by the Aztecs.  The adoption of the name (initially as “wild Turkey”), documented in North American records since 1607, wasn’t until later recognized as a taxonomical error and it’s thought it happened simply because the of the visual similarity between the birds.  There was once speculation that it may have been something more considered, either because the North American turkey was in part introduced through Ottoman territories or else to indicate it was foreign; these theories are now little supported.  It’s a strange linguistic soup because in Turkish the name is hindi (literally "Indian") a use probably influenced by early seventeenth century French dinde (contracted from poulet d'inde (literally "chicken from India", which endures in Modern French as dindon), based on the then-common misconception that the New World (the Americas) was eastern Asia (hence “Red Indians”, “West Indies” et al).  The bird from the Americas may have appeared in England as early as 1524 but documentary evidence confirms its presence in 1534.  Large, tasty, easily fattened and well adapted to the climate, turkey by the late sixteenth century had become the standard fare at an English Christmas dinner.

In an example of the way mistakes in science can linger as orthodoxy if vested with sufficient academic respectability, even after the different biology of the two birds were distinguished and the names differentiated, turkey was erroneously retained for the American bird, instead of the African.  From this confusion, Melagris, the ancient name of the African fowl, was listed as the generic name of the American bird by Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778), the Swedish physician who defined the modern system of taxonomy which applies a binomial nomenclature to botanical and zoological organisms.

Leslie Grace (b 1995) as Batgirl.

In August 2022, it was announced the release of the film Batgirl, commissioned for Warner Bros’ streaming platform HBO Max, had been cancelled.  Although never intended to show in cinemas, such was the negative feedback from test audiences it was sent to editing experts who are said to have declared it irredeemable, the turkey consigned to the Warner Bros vault.  Said to involve the write-off of what sounds a rather inflated US$90 million, cynics immediated speculated Warner Bros' accountants might have calculated the guaranteed profit offered by a tax off-set a more lucrative business model than a release on any platform.  In earlier times the odd turkey did eventually end up a cult-favorite on VCR or DVD but there's no prediction how long it'll take Batgirl to leak out.  In idiomatic use, the sense of “a turkey” meaning "inferior show, a failure" is show business slang dating from 1927, presumably because of the bird's reputation for stupidity, this meaning soon extended to just about any failed product including political candidates or policies.  In this sense, there’s also the slang meaning "stupid, ineffectual person" but surprisingly, there’s no record of use prior to 1951.

Grumman F6F Hellcat.

A turkey shoot was "something easy", slang which is listed as being of World War II-era but most seem to agree it had likely been in oral use much earlier, especially south of the Mason-Dixon Line.  The reference was to (presumably mostly informal) contests of marksmanship in which turkeys were tied behind a log, only their moving heads visible as targets; it sounds barbaric now but it was a different time and to the bird, the experience may have been little different from any other method of dispatch.  The sudden popularity of “turkey shoot” during the war was probably associated with the events in the Battle of the Philippine Sea (19-20 June 1944), the last of the conflict’s big, set-piece carrier battles and the engagement which ended the capacity of the Imperial Japanese Navy strategically to deploy carrier groups.  US Naval aviators described the air battles as “the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot” because of the disproportional loss ratio inflicted upon the Japanese and the ease with which their aircraft could be downed.  The air engagement was a classic example of the approach of the US military: Problems are not merely to be solved but overwhelmed.  It was also a example of how superior technology will tend to prevail, the combination of proximity fuses which meant American gunnery didn’t need to be especially accurate when trained on Japanese aircraft still mostly without self-sealing fuel tanks as decisive a difference as earlier advantages in hardware had been for the British in the Sudan or the Italians in Ethiopia.  To “talk turkey” dates from 1824 and, according to folklore, comes from the tale of a Yankee attempting to swindle a Native American (then called a Red Indian) in dividing a turkey and buzzard as food.

Cold turkey refers both to (1) a sudden and complete withdrawal from a dependent substance (especially narcotics) and (2) the physiological effects of such a withdrawal.  The origin of the term is murky and may date from a number of nineteenth century references to unwelcome guests being served literally cold slices of turkey at Christmas rather than the more pleasing hot, dressed dish.  In that sense it came to refer both to suffering and social ostracization, the meaning in the sense of term and the term "withdrawal from an addictive substance" (originally of heroin) dating from 1921, probably based on the idea of a meal of cold turkey being something served with little preparation.

Lindsay Lohan with president of Türkiye  (formerly Turkey) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, his wife Emine and Syrian internally displaced person (IDP) Bana Alabed (b 2009), Ankara, January 2017.

The country formerly known as the Republic of Turkey straddles West Asia and South East Europe, the Bosporus (on the banks of which sits Istanbul (formerly known as Constantinople)), an ancient gateway between the two continents.  The Ottoman Empire emerged in Anatolia (the western portion of Asian Turkey) during the thirteenth century, surviving until 1918.  During the sixteenth century, the empire stretched from the Persian Gulf to western Algeria and included most of southeastern Europe, leaving an architectural heritage visible to this day.  Modern Turkey was created in 1923 as a secular state.  The English name of Turkey is ultimately from the Medieval Latin Turchia & Turquia (land of the Turks)but it wasn’t until as recently as the early eighteenth century that the spelling “Turkey” began to be standardized.  In the Middle English the spellings included Turkye, Torke, Turkie & Turky and those who complain about the lack of proof-reading and editing in modern documents should note that it was not unusual for more than one form to appear in the same short text.  The most common form in the Middle English was Turkye, from the Anglo-Norman Turkye, from the Medieval Latin Turcia, from Turcus (usually translated as “Turk” and of unknown origin but many suggest and original meaning of “strength”), from the Byzantine Greek Τοῦρκος (Toûrkos), from the Persian ترک‎ (Turk), from the Middle Persian twlk' (Turk), from the Old Turkic.  The original meaning of the Persian Turk is also uncertain and may have varied with context, various documents suggesting it could be used to mean “warrior”, “beautiful youth”, “barbarian” or “robber” and how wide a net that casts may depend on one's opinion of males aged 17-25.

National flag of Türkiye Cumhuriyeti.

In May 2022, the office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations announced the Republic of Turkey had changed its name to Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (Republic of Türkiye).  Whether the authorities in Ankara were much concerned about sharing a name with the large gallinaceous bird native or the colloquial use to describe dud movies or stupid and inept people isn’t clear but certainly, they were no longer happy about an anglicized version of the name being used around the world.  In a press release, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (b 1954; prime minister of Turkey 2003-2014, president since 2014) stated “Türkiye is accepted as an umbrella brand for our country in national and international venues...” and the name “…is the best representation and expression of the Turkish people’s culture, civilization, and values.”  Effectively a national re-branding, the change will be reflected in the label “Made in Türkiye” appearing on manufactured goods and adjustments have been made to institutional names such as the nation carrier which would henceforth operate internationally under the name Türk Hava Yolları (Turkish Airlines).

Recent changes of name

2019: The Republic of Macedonia changed to Republic of North Macedonia to resolve some regional disputes.  For a time, because of earlier disputes, it had been known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia which was usually written as FYROM (pronounced fire-rom). 

2018: The Kingdom of Swaziland became the Kingdom of Eswatini.

2016: Czechia introduced as country name although Czech Republic remains the state title.

2014: Republic of Cape Verde became Republic of Capo Verde.

2013: The Democratic Republic of Somalia became the Federal Republic of Somalia.

2011: The Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya became simply Libya.

2010: The Union of Myanmar became the Republic of the Union of Myanmar although the SLORC at the time issued some contriductory statements and Burma is still widely used.

2009: The Republic of Bolivia became the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

1997: Zaire became the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

1990-1992: New country names were gazetted consequent upon the breakup of Yugoslavia: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Croatia, Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro & Republic of Slovenia

1990-91: New country names were gazetted consequent on the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR): Republic of Armenia, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Belarus (initially Belorussia, but adopted Belarus in 1992), Republic of Estonia, Georgia, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Latvia, Republic of Lithuania, Republic of Moldova (initially Moldavia, but adopted Moldova in 1992), Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Republic of Uzbekistan.

1990: People’s Republic of Benin became Republic of Benin.

1990: Unification of Germany; German Democratic Republic (East Germany, the GDR) absorbed by the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany, the FRG).

1989: The Union of Burma became the Union of Myanmar, previously Union of Burma.  Confusingly, it appeared the SLORC maintained Burma as the country name for most purposes.

1984: The Republic of Upper Volta became Burkina Faso.

1981: British Honduras became Belize.

1980: Southern Rhodesia became Zimbabwe.

1979:  New Hebrides became the Republic of Vanuatu.

1979: The Imperial State of Iran became the Islamic Republic of Iran.

1972: Ceylon became Sri Lanka.

1971: East Pakistan became Bangladesh; West Pakistan became Pakistan.

1971: Bechuanaland became the Republic of Botswana.

1971: Basutoland became the Kingdom of Lesotho.

1964: Tanganyika and Zanzibar joined to form the United Republic of Tanzania.

1964: Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia.

1961: Northern Cameroons became part of Nigeria (now Federal Republic of Nigeria) & Southern Cameroons became part of the Federal Republic of Cameroon (now Republic of Cameroon).

1957: The Gold Coast became the Republic of Ghana.

1953: Formation of the Republic of Korea (South Korea, the ROC) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea, the DPRK).

1949: The Republic of China became the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

1949: Formation of German Democratic Republic (East Germany, the GDR) and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany, the FRG).

1949: Transjordan became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

1947: India became the Republic of India; the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was created (as East Pakistan & West Pakistan).

1939: The Kingdom of Siam becomes the Kingdom of Thailand.

1935: Persia become the the Imperial State of Iran.

1929: Vatican City gained independence from Italy as a city-state.

1923: Turkey; Republic of Turkey created after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.