Online Etymology Dictionary

fowler: O.E. fugelere, agent noun from fugelian “to hunt fowl” (see fowl).
fowl: O.E. fugel "bird," general Gmc. word (cf. Gothic fugls), from P.Gmc. *foglaz (cf. O.N. fugl, M.Du. voghel, Ger. vogel, Goth. fugls), probably by dissimilation from *flug-la-, lit. "flyer," from the same root as O.E. fleogan, modern fly (v.1). Originally "bird;" narrower sense of "domestic hen or rooster" (the main modern meaning) is first recorded 1580; in U.S. also extended to ducks and geese.
poultry: mid-14c., from O.Fr. pouletrie "domestic fowl" (late 13c.), from poulet "young fowl" (see pullet). Poulterer (1630s) is a redundancy, but has largely ousted original poulter (c.1400), from O.Fr. pouletier "poulterer," with agent suffix -er. Poetic poulter's measure (1570s) is of fanciful origin.
pullet: mid-14c., "young fowl," from Anglo-Fr. pullet, O.Fr. poulette, dim. of poule "hen," from V.L. *pulla, fem. of L. pullus "young animal, young fowl." Technically, a young hen from the time she begins to lay until the first molt.
jambalaya: 1872, from Louisiana Fr., from Prov. jambalaia "stew of rice and fowl."
drumstick: 1580s, from drum + stick; applied to the lower joint of cooked fowl 1764.
bantam: 1749, after Bantam, former Dutch residency in Java, from which the small domestic fowl were said to have been first imported. Extension to "small person" is 1837. As a light weight class in boxing, it is attested from 1884, probably from the birds, which are small but aggressive and bred for fighting.
turkey: 1540s, "guinea fowl" (Numida meleagris), imported from Madagascar via Turkey, by Near East traders known as turkey merchants. The larger North American bird (Meleagris gallopavo) was domesticated by the Aztecs, introduced to Spain by conquistadors (1523) and thence to wider Europe, by way of North Africa (then under Ottoman rule) and Turkey (Indian corn was originally turkey corn or turkey wheat in English for the same reason). The word turkey was first applied to it in English 1550s because it was identified with or treated as a species of the guinea fowl. The Turkish name for it is hindi, lit. "Indian," probably via Fr. dinde (contracted from poulet d'inde, lit. "chicken from India"), based on the common misconception that the New World was eastern Asia. The New World bird itself reputedly reached England by 1524 at the earliest estimate, though a date in the 1530s seems more likely. By 1575, turkey was becoming the usual main course at an English Christmas. Meaning "inferior show, failure," is 1927 in show business slang, probably from the bird's reputation for stupidity. Meaning "stupid, ineffectual person" is recorded from 1951. Turkey shoot "something easy" is World War II-era, in ref. to marksmanship contests where turkeys were tied behind a log with their heads showing as targets.
gizzard: "stomach of a bird," 1373, from O.Fr. giser, probably from V.L. *gicerium, from L. gigeria (neut. pl.) "cooked entrails of a fowl," a delicacy in ancient Rome. Parasitic -d added 1500s. Later extended to other animals, and, jocularly, to human beings.
coot: c.1300, cote, used for various water fowl (now limited to Fulica atra and, in North America, F. americana), of uncertain origin (cf. Du. meercoet "lake coot"). Meaning "silly person, fool" is attested from 1766.
ornitho-: from Gk., comb. form of ornis (gen. ornithos) "bird" (but in Attic, generally "domestic fowl"), from PIE *or- "large bird" (see erne).
polecat: 1320, first element is probably Anglo-Fr. pol, from O.Fr. poule "fowl, hen," so called because it preys on poultry. The other alternative is that the first element is from O.Fr. pulent "stinking," for obvious reasons. Originally the European Putorius foetidus; also applied to related U.S. skunks since 1688.
catchpoll: O.E. *kæcepol, O.N.Fr. cachepol (O.Fr. chacepol), from M.L. cacepollus "a tax gatherer," lit. "chase-fowl."
Leghorn: breed of fowl, 1869, from Leghorn, city in Italy (modern Livorno, 16c.-17c. Legorno), from L. Liburnus.
gander: O.E. gandra "male goose," from P.Gmc. *gan(d)ron- (cf. Du. gander, M.L.G. ganre), perhaps originally the name of some other water fowl (cf. Lith. gandras "stork"). The slang sense of "take a long look" is first recorded 1887, from the notion of craning one's neck like a goose.
waterfowl: c.1300, from water (n.1) + fowl. Cf. O.H.G. wazzarvogel, Du. watervogel.
pickle: c.1440, probably from M.Du. pekel "pickle, brine," from a Low Ger. root of uncertain origin or meaning (cf. Du. pekel, E.Fris. päkel, Ger. pökel). Originally a sauce served with meat or fowl; meaning "cucumber preserved in pickle" first recorded 1707. Figurative sense of "sorry plight" first recorded 1562.
garbage: 1422, originally "giblets of a fowl, waste parts of an animal," later confused with garble in its sense of "siftings, refuse." Many M.E. cookery terms came from Anglo-Fr., so perhaps it is related to O.Fr. jarbage "a bundle of sheaves, entrails," from P.Gmc. *garba-, from PIE *ghrebh- "a handful, a grasp." Sense of "refuse" is first attested 1583. Garbology "study of waste as a social science" is from 1976.
blancmange: late 14c., from O.Fr. blancmengier (13c.), lit. "white eating," originally a dish of fowl minced with cream, rice, almonds, sugar, eggs, etc.; from blanc "white" (also used in O.Fr. of white foods, e.g. eggs, cream, also white meats such as veal and chicken; see blank) + mangier "to eat" (see manger).
poodle: 1825, from Ger. Pudel, shortened form of Pudelhund "water dog," from Low Ger. Pudel "puddle" (cf. pudeln "to splash") + Ger. Hund "hound." Probably so called because the dog was used to hunt water fowl. Fig. sense of "lackey" (chiefly British) is attested from 1907. Poodle-faker, British army slang for "ingratiating male," is from 1902.
chick: c.1320, abbreviation of chicken (q.v.), extended to human offspring (often in alliterative pairing chick and child) and used as a term of endearment. As slang for "young woman" it is first recorded 1927 (in "Elmer Gantry"), supposedly from U.S. black slang, in British use by c.1940, popularized by Beatniks late 1950s. Chicken in this sense is from 1711. Sometimes c.1600-1900 chicken was taken as a plural, chick as a singular (cf. child/children) for the domestic fowl.
chicken: O.E. cycen "young fowl," which in M.E. came to mean "young chicken," then any chicken, from W.Gmc. *kiukinam, from base *keuk- (possibly root of cock, of echoic origin) + dim. suffix. Sense of "cowardly" is at least as old as 14c.; the v. meaning "to back down or fail through cowardice" is from 1943, U.S. slang; as a game of danger to test courage, it is first recorded 1953. Chicken hawk "public person who advocates war but who declined significant opportunity to serve in uniform during wartime" is attested from at least 1988, Amer.Eng. Chicken feed "paltry sum of money" is from 1904. Chickweed (c.1440) was in O.E. cicene mete "chicken food."
pony (n.): 1659, powny, from Scottish, apparently from Fr. poulenet "little foal" (1444), dim. of O.Fr. poulain "foal," from L.L. pullanus "young of an animal," from L. pullus "young of a horse, fowl, etc." German, sensibly, indicates this animal by attaching a dim. suffix to its word for "horse," which might yield Mod.Eng. *horslet. Meaning "crib of a text as a cheating aid" (1827) and "small liquor glass" (1849) both are from notion of "smallness" (the former also "something one rides"). As the name of a popular dance, it dates from 1963. Pony Express began 1847. Ponytail, girls' hairstyle, first recorded 1952.
hen: O.E. hen, from W.Gmc. *khannjo (cf. M.Du. henne, O.H.G. henna), fem. of *khan(e)ni "male fowl, cock" (cf. O.E. hana "cock"), lit. "bird who sings for sunrise," from PIE base *kan- "to sing" (see chant). The original masc. word survives in Ger. (Hahn "cock"), Swed., Dan., etc.; extension to "female of any bird species" is early 14c. in English. Hen as slang for "woman" dates from 1620s; hence hen party "gathering of women," first recorded 1887. Henpecked is from 1680.
"The henpect Man rides behind his Wife, and lets her wear the Spurs and govern the Reins." [Samuel Butler]
pool (2): "game similar to billiards," 1848, originally (1693) a card game played for collective stakes (a "pool"), from Fr. poule "stakes, booty, plunder," lit. "hen," from O.Fr. poule "hen, young fowl." Perhaps the original notion is from jeu de la poule, supposedly a game in which people threw things at a hen and the player who hit it, won it, which speaks volumes about life in the Middle Ages. The connection of "hen" and "stakes" is also present in Sp. polla and Walloon paie. Meaning "collective stakes" first recorded 1869; sense of "common reservoir of resources" is from 1917. Meaning "group of persons who share duties or skills" is from 1928. The verb meaning "to make a common interest, put things into a pool" is 1872, from the noun.
guinea: former British coin, 1664, from Guinea, region along the west coast of Africa, presumably from an African word (perhaps Tuareg aginaw "black people"); the 20-shilling coins so called because they were first minted for British trade with Guinea (but soon in domestic use) and with gold from Africa. The original guinea (in use from 1663 to 1813) was based on the value of gold and by 1695 it was worth 30 shillings. William III then fixed its value at 21 shillings, 6 pence in 1698. The extra 6 pence were lopped off in December 1717. The Guinea hen (1578) is a domestic fowl imported from there. Guinea "derogatory term for Italian" (1896) was originally Guinea Negro (1740s) and meant "black person, person of mixed ancestry." It was applied to Italians c.1890 probably because of their dark complexions relative to northern Europeans, and after 1911 was occasionally applied to Hispanics and Pacific Islanders as well. New Guinea was so named 1546 by Sp. explorer Inigo Ortiz de Retes in ref. to the natives' dark skin and tightly curled hair.