Etymograph

English

fowl

Fowl comes from Middle English foul ‘a bird’, from Proto-Germanic *fleuganą ‘to fly’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *plew- ‘flow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plew-1‘flow’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plewk-1‘to fly, flow, run’uncertainenlargement of *plew-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleuganą2‘to fly’uncertain
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fuglaz2‘bird’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fugl2‘bird’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150fugol2‘bird’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500foul2‘a bird’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1485fowl2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fleuganą
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English fowl
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory: “And now I take vpon me the aduentures of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plew-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fleuganą‘flow’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plewk-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fleuganą‘to fly, flow, run’uncertainenlargement of *plew-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleuganąWiktionary, English fowl‘to fly’uncertain
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fuglazWiktionary, English fowl‘bird’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fuglWiktionary, English fowl‘bird’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150fugolWiktionary, English fowl‘bird’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500foulWiktionary, English fowl‘a bird’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1485fowlWiktionary, English fowl. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory: “And now I take vpon me the aduentures of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *plew- ‘flow’

flow, pneumonia, plutonium, plough, flue, plover, plutocracy, 24 more

through Proto-Indo-European *plewk- ‘to fly, flow, run’

flee, flock, floss, 10 more

through Proto-Germanic *fleuganą ‘to fly’

flight, fly, flew, flown, flay, 4 more

through Proto-West Germanic *fugl ‘bird’

fogle, 2 more

Today it means

noun Any bird.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fowl”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *fleuganą. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *plew- / fowl

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