Why is Turkey Called Turkey? Your Other Language Questions Answered

Our word maven, Patricia T. O’Conner, looks at the etymologies of some “New World foods” found on our Thanksgiving tables. For example, “pumpkin” comes from Greek (for “ripe gourd”) though it’s a North American vegetable. And turkey is native to North America, but in a roundabout way it became confused with the African Guinea fowl, which was thought to have come originally from Turkey. O'Conner will also answer questions about language and grammar. An updated and expanded third edition of O’Conner’s book, Woe is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English, is available in paperback, as is  Origins of the Specious, written with Stewart Kellerman.

If you have a question about language and grammar, leave a comment or call us at 212-433-9692!