November 22, 2007
Bird
My trusty word book says that the guinea-fowl was brought into Europe through Turkey and got its name that way. But the bird we now call a turkey is actually native to the new world.
The American bird was thought to be of the same species. When the difference was discovered, the name guinea-fowl was kept for the old-world bird, and by some circumlocution the turkey was transferred to our Thanksgiving tables.
The annual deferential reprieve of the White House turkey goes back down through the years and quite a number of presidents. Any conceivable nepotistic symbolism in that event seems more appropriate some years than others.
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