peafowl

[ pee-foul ]

/ ˈpiˌfaʊl /

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noun, plural pea·fowls, (especially collectively) pea·fowl.

any of several gallinaceous birds of the genera Pavo, of India, Sri Lanka, southeastern Asia, and the East Indies, and Afropavo, of Africa.

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If autumn is your ideal season, spice up your repertoire of "fall" vocabulary with this quiz on some warm and vivid descriptive words for the season.

Question 1 of 10

Which of the following words means “to make a crackling sound; crackle”?

crisp

crepitate

fuscous

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Compare peacock, peahen.

Origin of peafowl

First recorded in 1795–1805; pea (see peacock) + fowl

Words nearby peafowl

peacock ore, peacock plant, peacock's tail, peacock worm, pea crab, peafowl, peag, pea green, peahen, pea jacket, peak

How to use peafowl in a sentence

The Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) usually lay their large white eggs on the ground in long grass or thick undergrowth.
A Bird Calendar for Northern India|Douglas Dewar
But there were many different kinds—not alone of hens and roosters; for there were peafowl, and guineas, and ducks, and turkeys.
Six Little Bunkers at Mammy June's|Laura Lee Hope
The peafowl is smaller, slenderer, and more graceful than the turkey, and is a little more agile in motion.
Our Domestic Birds|John H. Robinson
The methods of managing turkeys apply at nearly every point to the management of peafowl.
Our Domestic Birds|John H. Robinson

The scarcity of peafowl is not due wholly to the expense of procuring them or to the difficulty of rearing them.
Our Domestic Birds|John H. Robinson

British Dictionary definitions for peafowl

peafowl

/ (ˈpiːˌfaʊl) /

noun plural -fowls or -fowl

either of two large pheasants, Pavo cristatus (blue peafowl) of India and Ceylon and P. muticus (green peafowl) of SE Asia. The males (peacocks) have a characteristic bright plumageSee peacock (def. 1)

a rare closely related African species, Afropavo congensis (Congo peafowl), both sexes of which are brightly coloured

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012