Why is the turkey called a turkey?

from Ecogeeks : Untamed Science Video Podcast · host Rob and Haley Nelson

Did you know that the turkey was in fact named after the country Turkey? In Turkey though, the name refers to coming from India. In India, it refers to Peru. In Arabic, it’s called Greek Chicken. In French, it’s Indian Chicken. So how did the turkey get it’s name? In this short Untamed Science video, the crew looks at not only the name, but also what Benjamin Franklin had to say about the bird, and the basics of turkey behavior. For more information, check out our web page on the wild turkey.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jan 16, 2013

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What this episode covers

Have you ever stopped to think it's kind of weird that a country (Turkey) has the same name as our wild thanksgiving bird of choice? You might have thought it was a coincidence, but get this. In turkey, they call it greek chicken. In Greece, they call it Peru. In Peru, they call it French Chicken and in France they call it Indian Chicken. The bird we now know as the turkey, was actually a name given because of the country of Turkey! As it turns out, the first explorers brought the turkey back to Europe through Turkey. Because of that, the bird was colloquially called Turkish guinea fowl. It was later just shortened to turkey.