English
poultry
Poultry comes from Old French poulet ‘chicken (as a food)’, from poule ‘hen’, and ultimately from Latin pullus ‘chick’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpullus‘chick’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400poule‘hen’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400poulet‘chicken (as a food)’diminutive of poule
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400pouleterie
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pultrie
- Englishtodaypoultry
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpullus‘chick’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400poule‘hen’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400poulet‘chicken (as a food)’diminutive of poule
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400pouleterie
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pultrie
- Englishtodaypoultry
Equivalent to poult + -ry
Latin pullus ‘dark-colored, dark-gray, dusky’
Old French poule ‘hen’
Old French poulet ‘young fowl’
Middle English pult
English poult
The story
For the development of Middle English /u/ to modern /oʊ/, /əʊ/ before /lt/, /ld/, /ln/, compare boult, boulder, colter/coulter, poultice, shoulder, won't.
Linked words
through Latin pullus ‘chick’
Today it means
noun Domestic fowl (e.g. chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese) raised for food (meat, eggs, or both).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin pullus / poultry