Dictionary.com Word FAQs  What is the origin of turkey?  Turkey
is short for "turkey-cock" or "turkey-hen," originally the name
for the African guinea fowl, and eventually for the Western
hemisphere fowl with which the earlier bird was confused. This
large gallinaceous bird was found domesticated in Mexico at the
discovery of that country in 1518, and was soon introduced into
Europe. Two sub-species or species of this were found wild -
including the Northern wild turkey, a native of the eastern half
of the continent, from Canada and the Missouri region to Texas.
The wild original of the domestic fowl of North America was
described in print in 1613 by the Pilgrims. When Europeans
arrived in America, they noticed similarities between the guinea
fowl and the American bird and called the latter turkey.
Drintling refers to turkeys' clucking noises and the wishbone of
a turkey used to be called the merrythought.  Copyright © 2014
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