game fowln.
/ˈɡeɪm ˌfaʊl/, U.S. /ˈɡeɪm ˌfaʊl/ 1. Any of numerous wild birds which are hunted, primarily for sport. Cf. game bird n. 2.
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the world > animals > birds > wild or domestic birds > [noun] > game-bird
fowl of game1671
game fowl1716
game bird1770
game1850
bird1877
1716 G. Jacob Mod. Justice Table sig. Ee4 Eggs of Game-Fowl, &c. Penalty for destroying them.
1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 312 Should never game-fowl hatch her eggs again, Nor baited hook deceive the fish's eye.
1874 Publishers' Weekly 15 Aug. 176 A book of..many miscellaneous hints of great value to hunters of wild game-fowl.
1887 Central Afr. 1 Jan. 11 Tumani and I went yesterday with guns to shoot game fowl, we find them a good change from potted meats.
1911 J. H. Paul Out Doors West xlv. 252 Practical nature work will result in the breeding of game fowl—pheasants, quail, woodcock.
1922 G. I. Hartley Importance Bird Life xii. 246 The wild turkey, the monarch of all game-fowl.
1998 P. Rose & J. G. Anderson Insiders' Guide to Boise & Sun Valley 148 Waterfowl, game fowl, owls and herons have found their niches here... Red foxes merely visit.
2004 D. Rice What About? Golden Retrievers ix. 115 If you're a weekend sports person and enjoy hunting game fowl, your Golden's retrieving instincts will serve you well.
2. Any of various breeds of domestic fowl bred originally for cockfighting; a bird of such a breed. Cf. gamecock n. 1.
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the world > animals > birds > order Galliformes (fowls) > family Phasianidae (pheasants, etc.) > hen or cock > [noun] > cock > fighting cock
fighting cock1538
cock of the game1569
gamecock1634
game fowl1742
game bird1743
1742 I. Hallam Cocker: Poem sig. A2 Game-Fowl are frequently hatch'd under Dunghill Hens.
1763 P. Montague Family Treasury 109 The water which comes from chalk, or limestone is far the best for game fowl, during the first month of feeding.
1805 Sporting Mag. Nov. 63/2 They spared no expence to obtain the eggs of the game fowl.
1867 W. B. Tegetmeier Poultry Bk. xii. 123 The..superiority of the Game fowls bred in England has been entirely due to the practice of cock-fighting.
1906 R. A. McIntyre Game Fowl 175 The nearer a game fowl can live as the birds of the air, the finer, stronger, healthier and gamier.
1983 F. Hams Old Poultry Breeds (ed. 2) 14/2 In 1983 a class for the true or Old English Game Fowl was given at Cleator Moor in Cumbria.
2003 J. Batty Old & Rare Breeds Poultry (ed. 3) 105 It is quite easy to get some of the colours seen in the Game Fowl from a true Black-red Yokohama cock mated to females of different colours.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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