The bird-related story to top 'em all came to me while I waited in line to buy a sandwich in the Istanbul airport last week. By selecting a “hindi wrap” for lunch, I stumbled across the Turkish word for, well, Turkey...like the Tyson, Ephraim, winged kind. Allegedly, the word “Turkey” was adopted by Westward civilizations because it was thought that the giant birds came from the East. Well, the Turks thought the same thing, so they called the immense feathered ones “hindi” because, well, India is east of THEM. So there ya have it--geographical etymology at its most unfortunate.
I personally was under the impression that turkeys were a North American species, but it’s a good story, eh? In any case, many Turks agree that Turkey (the country) should really be called “Anatolia.” But historical accuracy and is a lot less fun(ny).
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