Naming The Bird "Turkey"

For those of you who don't know, the bird turkey has a connection with the country Turkey---although there are no turkeys in Turkey. Here is a snippet of the Wikipedia article on the bird turkey:

History and Naming
When Europeans first encountered turkeys in the Americas they incorrectly identified the birds as a type of guineafowl (Numididae), also known as a turkey-cock from its importation to Central Europe through Turkey, and the name of that country stuck as the name of the bird. The confusion is also reflected in the scientific name: meleagris is Greek for guinea-fowl.

The names for M. gallopavo in other languages also frequently reflect its exotic origins, seen from an Old World viewpoint, and add to the confusion about where turkeys actually came from. The many references to India seen in common names go back to a combination of two factors: first, the genuine belief that the newly-discovered Americas were in fact a part of Asia, and second, the tendency during that time to attribute exotic animals and foods to a place that symbolized far-off, exotic lands. The latter is reflected in terms like "Muscovy Duck" (which is from South America, not Muscovy). This was a major reason why the name "turkey-cock" stuck to Meleagris rather than to the guinea fowl (Numida meleagris): the Ottoman Empire represented the exotic East.

The name given to a group of turkeys is a rafter, although they are sometimes incorrectly referred to as a gobble or flock.[1]

Several other birds which are sometimes called "turkeys" are not particularly closely related: the Australian brush-turkey is a megapode, and the bird sometimes known as the "Australian turkey" is in fact the Australian Bustard, a gruiform. The bird sometimes called a Water Turkey is actually an Anhinga (Anhinga rufa)

See also: Is turkey (the bird) named after Turkey (the country) or vice versa?, Why A Turkey Is Called A Turkey and Why Is Our Thanksgiving Bird Called a Turkey? (Answer: Because, of course, it came from Turkey).

Evolution Of The Word Virgin

Evolution Of The Word Virgin

From Michael Kirtland:
I have heard that the word virgin suffered a change of context/meaning in the 1300's; that, prior to this time it had been a synonym of "virtuous" or "good" and had no direct tie to sexual purity. This would be consistent with the early renaissance advent of the Virgin Mary's immaculate conception. If true, it would be fascinating to investigate whether or not this etymological evolution is in fact the cornerstone to an entire religion - Catholicism.
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The term Virgin Mary first appears in writing in about 1300. Virgin alone originally meant "a pious, unmarried or chaste woman" since about 1200, and by 1300 it meant also "a woman in a state of inviolate chastity". It appears that the Virgin Mary was so dubbed after the change in the word's meaning.

We would not say that the notion of a virgin birth is the cornerstone of Catholicism by any means, but it certainly does play a large role in the Church.