guinea fowl

/ˈɡɪni ˌfaʊl/

//ˈɡɪni ˌfaʊl// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"guinea-fowl" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“guinea fowl” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of several African birds of the family Numididae (6 species) resembling partridges.

Key facts for guinea fowl
PropertyValue
Headwordguinea fowl
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡɪni ˌfaʊl/
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “guinea fowl” sits in English frequency

guinea fowl falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

guinea fowl is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɡɪni ˌfaʊl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for guinea fowl, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Named after Guinea as it was imported from there. The correct English form is guinea fowl, spelled G-U-I-N-E-A- -F-O-W-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of several African birds of the family Numididae (6 species) resembling partridges.
  2. 2
    The meat of this bird.

Etymology

Named after Guinea as it was imported from there.

This word in other languages

pintada(Español)pintade(Français)cocar(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "guinea fowl"?
"guinea fowl" is spelled G-U-I-N-E-A- -F-O-W-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡɪni ˌfaʊl/.
What does "guinea fowl" mean?
As a noun, "guinea fowl" means: Any of several African birds of the family Numididae (6 species) resembling partridges.
How do you pronounce "guinea fowl"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "guinea fowl" is /ˈɡɪni ˌfaʊl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "guinea fowl"?
Named after Guinea as it was imported from there. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “guinea fowl”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is G-U-I-N-E-A- -F-O-W-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈɡɪni ˌfaʊl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list