In the English language, the turkey gets kind of a tough break.

Talking turkey requires serious honesty and speaking harsh truths. Going cold turkey is, often, an onerous way of quitting something completely and suddenly. Being a turkey is a rude zinger thrown at movie and theatrical flops, as well as unpleasant, failure-prone people.

Yet, in the culinary world, the turkey looms large, particularly during November. This year, Americans are expected to eat about 30 million of them on Thanksgiving day, according to the National Turkey Federation. It’s a fitting legacy for a bird that’s been a fixture of holiday meals ever since it was first brought across the Atlantic to Europe by colonists.

But for all its cultural ubiquity, much of the turkey’s early history is shrouded in uncertainty, historians and etymologists say. That’s particularly true of how the bird got its name.

“‘Turkey’ is a very confusing, confusing name,” says Anatoly Liberman, a linguist and etymologist at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

So in this week’s installment of “Word of the Week,” we trace the origins of that confusing name — all the way back to pre-Columbian Mexico.

A case of mistaken identity

The species of Thanksgiving turkey that we know today, meleagris gallopavo, was domesticated in the Americas centuries before the arrival of Europeans, according to food historian Andrew F. Smith’s book The Turkey: An American Story. They were found in what’s now Mexico and the U.S. Southwest, though the exact details of who domesticated the birds and when aren’t quite clear, Smith writes. And, thanks to fairly shoddy record-keeping, it also isn’t quite clear which European explorers can be credited with bringing turkeys back home with them.

But by the 1520s, the birds were being raised in Spain and served on the dinner tables of the upper-class, Smith writes. Over the decades, farmers across the continent began to raise them, too.

From there, though, the American bird became a victim of mistaken identity, according to lexicographer Erin McKean. Prior to meleagris gallopavo‘s arrival, the Europeans already had a bird they called the turkey: the African guinea fowl. The two game birds look similar and were ending up on people’s dinner tables in basically the same way, McKean says.

A guinea fowl is seen in January 2020 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Prior to the arrival of meleagris gallopavo, the African guinea fowl was the bird that Europeans called a “turkey.”

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Warren Little/Getty Images

“I bet they look a lot more similar when they’re denuded of their feathers, roasted and on a plate,” she says.

As a result, meleagris gallopavo got stuck with the name “turkey,” too.

But the American turkeys began to eclipse the popularity of their African doppelgangers, Smith writes. And they began showing up in historical documents; in 1550s Venice, for example, they were subject to sumptuary laws, which governed which members of society had access to particular luxuries, McKean says.

“So only certain people were allowed to eat turkey at that point,” she says.

One thing that’s not clear in the historical documents, though, is how the term “turkey” came to apply to guinea fowls in the first place. Smith writes that Europeans often added the word “turkey” onto items that were foreign and strange, like “turkey corn” from the Americas. McKean says that the name is thought to have come from the guinea fowl being brought by traders into Europe through the Turkish region.

But the word’s origin isn’t settled fact, she says. “I’m not sure we’re ever going to know.”

For his part, Liberman says that it’s a myth that the bird has anything to do with the country of Turkey.

“The Europeans knew nothing about [the turkey’s] origin and invented all kinds of names. They were not sure where the bird came from and ascribed its origin to all kinds of foreign lands,” he says.

In that sense, the bird is in good company: Liberman says that the origins of most bird names are mysterious. “Some are entirely fanciful, and some are the product of confusion,” he says.

Back to the Americas, and into the English lexicon

Over the decades, the English grew particularly fond of turkeys, which became a central part of celebrations like Christmas, Smith writes in The Turkey. So when English colonists came to North America and created settlements like Jamestown in the early 17th century, they brought their beloved domesticated turkeys along with them.

Crowds buying their Christmas turkeys at the Caledonian Market, London.

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The rest is history. Over the next two centuries, colonists’ celebrations of thanksgiving for good harvests and military victories became tradition, Smith writes. And by the time President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving to be a national holiday in 1863, turkeys were a mainstay of those meals.

Ever since, the turkey has remained on Thanksgiving tables — and in our colloquialisms, though they’ve continued to evolve.

Take “cold turkey,” for example. Now, the phrase is often associated with quitting an addiction – but that wasn’t the case when the first uses of the idiom started popping up in the late 19th century, according to Dave Wilton, the editor of WordOrigins.org. It simply meant that something was done quickly, he says, in reference to the fact that cold turkey is a dish that requires no preparation.

The meaning of “talking turkey” has also evolved, he says, from being “social” and ” agreeable” in the early 19th century to talking plainly and frankly around the beginning of the 20th.

Calling someone a “turkey” as an insult comes from theatrical slang, he says. Starting in the late 1800s, second-rate thespians were deemed “turkey actors”. It’s also come to describe box office failures.

Why all the negativity? McKean has a theory: “It’s an ugly bird that struts like a peacock without the beautiful feathers to justify showing off.” (Ouch.)

But it’s a word that has had staying power, despite the fact that it’s likely a misnomer in the first place.

“One thing we can’t lose sight of is that turkey is pretty much a fun word to say,” McKean says.

At the very least, it’s catchier than meleagris gallopavo.

On the second floor of a cultural center at Christ Cathedral in Orange County, an AI-rendered depiction of Jesus, calm and smiling, fills one side of the room. Breaking a piece of flatbread in two, he passes it to the 12 similarly enlarged men projected on all four walls around him. On the ground are images of heaping plates of food — roast lamb, vegetables, olives and dips.

“Take and eat,” the AI Jesus says. “This is my body.”

In the center of the room, real-life visitors arrayed on 26 swivel chairs turn their heads back and forth to take in the supersized Last Supper occurring all around them. Already, they have been plunged into the sea of Galilee watching as Jesus walked on water and witnessed his transfiguration on a mountain top. It was all part of what’s being touted as “a museum unlike any other, where faith and forensics meet.”

Located five miles from Disneyland on the campus that once housed televangelist Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral Ministries, the Shroud of Turin Experience is Orange County’s newest tourist attraction with a Christian twist. The 10,000-square-foot exhibit, which opened to the public last week, uses digital projection, artificial intelligence and special effects to introduce visitors to the life of Jesus as depicted in the Gospels with a focus on the mysterious linen burial cloth that believers say wrapped his body after the crucifixion.

“It’s a little Disney-esque, but we really want you to feel like you are in these scenes,” said Pat Powers, a financial adviser who helped raise money for the exhibit. “We want the whole experience to be visually overwhelming.”

Powered by technological advances and a consumer desire for in-person connection, immersive experiences are reinvigorating the way businesses and organizations connect with new audiences and the Catholic Church has taken note. From the viral success of Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience which arrived in L.A. in 2021 to the 360-degree entertainment at the Sphere in Las Vegas, young people in particular are seeking new and dynamic ways of interacting with their entertainment. Now, as the Catholic Church seeks to connect with a new generation of Christians who may be unfamiliar with the Biblical Jesus and the mystery of the shroud, religious and lay leaders are exploring digitally enhanced ways of bringing people to faith.

An interactive screen at the Shroud of Turin Experience allows guests to zoom in on details of the shroud of Turin, a mysterious linen cloth which some believe covered Jesus after his death.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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“We want to speak to people the way they are used to being spoken to today and in a way they can absorb,” Powers said.

Organizers said the desire to outfit the exhibit with digital bells and whistles came directly from the top. The Diocese of Orange only agreed to sign off on the privately funded project after organizers promised it would offer interactive elements beyond text and images.

“I said no static pictures, too boring,” said Bishop Timothy Freyer, auxiliary bishop of the diocese. “Posters on the walls wasn’t going to do it.”

Now, signs around the 34-acre Christ Cathedral campus where the Diocese of Orange is located advertise “The Shroud of Turin Experience” as if it were a summer blockbuster: “Discover the blood. Uncover the mystery. Encounter the light.”

Roughly 14 feet long and three feet wide, the shroud of Turin is one of the most scientifically studied and contested religious objects in the world — a holy relic to some and a medieval forgery to others. Scarred by burn marks and water stains, the narrow sheet of linen features hundreds of blood stains consistent with the wounds Jesus suffered at the time of his death. Even more mysteriously, it bares the faint image of a bearded man that some Christians believe provides physical evidence of Jesus’ resurrection. The Catholic Church has not taken an official position on the shroud’s veracity, but the exhibit’s organizers find the evidence for its divine provenance convincing and hope others will too.

A bronze statue of Jesus lies in front of an enlarged photo negative image of the face detail on the shroud of Turin.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“Our position is that the shroud offers evidence of the resurrection, but not proof,” said Nora Creech, a shroud scholar who helped organize the exhibit. “The goal is to lead people in and let them go on their own journey.”

Visitors will not be able to see the actual shroud of Turin. It hasn’t left its long time home of St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Turin, Italy, for centuries. However, with the bishop of Turin’s blessing, organizers were able to procure a high-resolution, full-sized replica. Docents at the exhibit will show visitors how to change their iPhone camera settings to create what looks like a photo negative, making it easier to see the shadowy figure on the cloth.

“Kids always think that’s cool,” said Creech.

The exhibit costs $20 for adults, and organizers say visitors should budget at least 90 minutes to make their way through it. In the first of three immersive rooms, a dizzying 360-degree video introduces guests to the story of Jesus’ life from his baptism to the crucifixion — including that jumbo last supper. At the end of the 20-minute film, a projected rock rolls away from a door leading into a second room designed to look like Jesus’ tomb, complete with a prone figure lying on a stone altar, draped in a white cloth. There guests watch an 18-minute documentary detailing the scientific research on the shroud before moving on to a third “chapel” room where a video animated by AI shares stories from the Bible of sightings of Jesus after his death.

Patrons view a supersized image of Christ on the cross.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The second half of the exhibit is more traditional. Guests can examine several instruments of torture that were reportedly used to inflict pain on Jesus, including replicas of the nails used for crucifixion, the crown of thorns that adorned his head, and the double-edged blade of a Roman lance that pierced his side. Interactive features include a kiosk that digitally separates each level of the shroud so visitors can examine just the blood stains, just the burn marks or just the shadowy image. Those who want a really deep dive on the shroud can interact with a virtual Father Spitzer, president of the Magis Center on Reason and Faith and a local expert on the shroud, to hear pre-recorded answers to questions like “What evidence suggests a supernatural cause was necessary for the image formulation on the shroud” and “How do neutrons explain the shroud’s exceptional resistance to aging and solvents?”

The final room of the exhibit is designed for reflection and includes a life-sized bronze statue of Jesus created by Italian artist Luigi Enzo Matte, according to the dimensions of the image on the shroud.

Although there is a clear religious bent to the entire experience, Creech said the exhibit, expected to remain at Christ Cathedral through at least 2030, is designed to share information on the life of Jesus and the shroud, but not necessarily to convert anyone.

“I think we can convince people that the shroud is the shroud that wrapped the physical body of Jesus,” she said. “But Jesus stresses the importance of belief. To proclaim that Jesus is our lord and savior is an act of faith that everyone has to take on their own.”

After much of the year focused on tariffs and the higher cost of living, Americans are ready to check out and celebrate the holidays. And signs are pointing to some of the deepest discounts seen in years, as stores try to coax shoppers into splurging.

The National Retail Federation, an industry trade group, is forecasting another record season. For the first time, it says, Americans will spend more than $1 trillion on gifts, food and decorations. It’s an optimistic prognosis that would mean sales growing by roughly 4%, just like they did last year.

Other estimates by firms that track spending predict spending may be less exuberant; Deloitte’s forecast suggests sales will grow around 3%.

Still, this promises a holiday season that’s far from the flop many feared early in the year, when President Trump began to launch tariffs on almost all imports.

People are skipping extras — and trading up

Much of the spending in the U.S. has been propped up by wealthier families. Lower-income shoppers are under pressure, tightening their budgets. But regardless of income, shoppers are hunting for deals in a specific way — for quality that matches the price.

At the grocery store, for example, this has been showing up as people refusing to pay more for name-brand groceries and, instead, switching to store brands. Or at Home Depot and Best Buy, people are careful about buying big-ticket items — but when they do, they’ve been choosing the fancier upgrades with bells and whistles. And so, for the holidays, this could mean splurging on that one top-of-the-line gift. 

At Ross Park Mall in Pittsburgh, Marissa McCune, 22, and Logan Koegler, 23, stopped by for an early Christmas present for Koegler: “I was ballin’ out with the Apple Watch,” McCune says, laughing. The couple left the mall with a second gift, a Stanley cup.

“I graduated and now have a job,” said Koegler, a registered nurse. “So now I feel like I’m able to get Christmas gifts that I wasn’t able to get before, being a student.”

Shoppers walk by a window display at Ross Park Mall in Pittsburgh.

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Instead, what people are starting to skip are the small, spontaneous extras — just one more candle or hand cream as a stocking stuffer or self-gift — that they might have bought in a pandemic-era shopping spree.

“Customers have maybe pulled back to not buy some of those add-on items that they would have normally bought,” said Jessica Bettencourt, who runs Klem’s general store in Spencer, Mass., founded by her grandfather 75 years ago.

“So they’re coming in and buying dog food, but maybe not buying two dog toys to go with it,” she said. “And it’s really hard to tell where those things are that customers are going to make the decision to hold back on.”

This could mean better-than-usual sales

This choosiness by shoppers has stores preparing to offer some of the biggest discounts of recent years, to loosen up people’s purse strings.

“It’ll be greater this year, I guarantee it,” Bettencourt said. “There are some categories — like the Christmas trim — that I can already see, it’s a little bit slow, so we’ll probably discount that much quicker.”

For the Black Friday weekend, Adobe Analytics, which tracks online transactions, forecasts discounts in line with last year — up to 28% off, including on electronics and toys. Discounts on clothes are expected to be deeper this year versus last year. Adobe predicts that Black Friday may see the best deals on TVs, toys and appliances.

Worried, but ready to celebrate

One big reason why the tariffs aren’t affecting the holidays as much as previously feared is how the Trump administration rolled them out — more slowly than originally threatened. Months of delays and renegotiations gave companies precious time; large retailers in particular stockpiled goods and found ways to keep prices from skyrocketing by either absorbing some of the costs themselves or pushing suppliers to do so.

Plus, people seem willing to spend for special occasions for some holiday reprieve from dim consumer sentiment, which continues to hover near the lowest level in the history of the highly watched monthly survey by the University of Michigan.

Shoppers showed up big for Halloween, which set spending records, and even for back-to-school. Higher-income shoppers are driving much of this spending. Unemployment hasn’t soared, and wages are generally still growing faster than inflation. Also, credit card debt has increased, and more people are turning to Buy Now Pay Later.

“As we approach the holidays, we know consumers remain cautious,” Target executive Rick Gomez told investors last week, adding that sentiment is “low amid concerns about jobs, affordability and tariffs. Yet they remain emotionally motivated. They want to celebrate with loved ones without overspending.”