Fowl
Fowl (foul) , noun
[Old English foul, fowel, foghel, fuhel, fugel, Anglo-Saxon fugol; akin to Old Saxon fugal Dutch & German vogel, Old High German fogal, Icelandic & Danish fugl, Swedish fogel, fågel, Gothic fugls; of unknown origin, possibly by loss of l, from the root of English fly, or akin to English fox, as being a tailed animal.]
Instead of the pl. Fowls the singular is often used collectively
1.
Any bird; esp., any large edible bird.
Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air.
Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not.
Like a flight of fowl
Scattered by winds and high tempestuous gusts.
2.
Any domesticated bird used as food, as a hen, turkey, duck; in a more restricted sense, the common domestic cock or hen (Gallus domesticus).
Collocations (1)
Barndoor fowl or Barnyard fowl , a fowl that frequents the barnyard; the common domestic cock or hen.
Fowl , intransitive verb
To catch or kill wild fowl, for game or food, as by shooting, or by decoys, nets, etc.
Such persons as may lawfully hunt, fish, or fowl.
Collocations (1)
Fowling piece , a light gun with smooth bore, adapted for the use of small shot in killing birds or small quadrupeds.