Truthahn

German

Etymology

From trut +‎ Hahn (“rooster”). The first element is either imitative of the turkey’s call to its young (cf. the etymology of Pute) or alternatively from Middle Low German drōten (“threaten”), improperly adapted to High German, in reference to the male turkey’s seemingly aggressive behavior.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtʁuːtˌhaːn/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Truthahn m (strong, genitive Truthahnes or Truthahns, plural Truthähne, feminine Truthenne)

1. male turkey

   Synonym: Puter

Usage notes

• There are two independent sets of synonyms for the “turkey”: Truthuhn (species), Truthahn (male), Truthenne (female) versus Pute (species and female), Puter (male). The commonest use is Pute for the species and female, but Truthahn for the male.

Declension

Declension of Truthahn [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Truthahn	die	Truthähne
genitive	eines	des	Truthahnes, Truthahns	der	Truthähne
dative	einem	dem	Truthahn, Truthahne1	den	Truthähnen
accusative	einen	den	Truthahn	die	Truthähne

¹Now rare, see notes.

Related terms

• Truthuhn
• Truthenne

Coordinate terms

• Pute

Further reading

• “Truthahn” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache