2399: Hebrew's Relationship to Chicken Jul 14, 2021

Technically, Hebrew has a distinct word for 'chicken' which is תרנגולת (tarnigolet) but this really only refers to a live chicken, specifically a hen. The word עוף (óf) is used for when referring to the meat, but this is also another word more generally meaning 'bird'. This is still the generic term for any bird in Modern Hebrew, and itself is related from the לעוף (la'uf) meaning 'to fly' but over time it gained another connotation. As it happens Israel is the number 1 consumer of chicken per capita globally, so perhaps this is not without reason.