Thanks for providing a definitive answer to Abida Saahiba's query. I
have reconfirmed from a highly reliable source that "feel-murGh" is
indeed the correct Persian term for the bird commonly known as
"turkey". It comes under the same category as "shutur-murGh", the
Persian term for an "ostrich"!!
The other term you have given here makes a lot of sense too ---
considering the insolence and the audaciousness of the Pharaohs. This
term, I would say, is more Arabic than Persian and makes a direct
connection with Egypt, just as the original Anglic word made with
You wouldn't believe it, but the Hindi word for turkey is "peru" ---
also pronounced as "peeru". According to my source that prefers to
remain anonymous
--- you know what kind of a world we are living in --- this term comes
from the Portuguese. The reason could be that the Portuguese and the
Spaniards presumably encountered this bird in Peru, South America,
just as the other Westerners presumably encountered it in Turkey,
Eurasia!
I wonder how Abida Saahiba feels about all this, but I can clearly see
that this thread provides her a lot more food for thought than a plate
full of
"feel-murGh" would provide for her stomach! LOL LOL LOL
In any case, thanks to you, Zafar Saahib, for providing the term that
I'll be using in my conversation from now on! Next time, when my
daughter invites me for the conventional "turkey dinner" at
Thanksgiving, I'll be telling everyone who cares to listen that I am
going to a "da'vat-e-feel murGh"!
Khair-aNdesh, Raj Kumar
-------------
1. feel murGh (feel = elephant)
2. murGh e fir'on: aik qism ka baRa murGh jo duniya ke har hisse meN
payaa jaataa hai; is ke sar par baal naheeN hote, lekin paroN kaa rang
surKh, zard aur kathayee hataa hai. is kaa gosht Ghaza ke taur par
khaayaa jaataa hai.
Hope it helps,
Zafar