Murgh
/mʊərɡ/noun
Chicken or poultry, especially in South Asian culinary contexts.
Did you know?Murgh ultimately belongs to an ancient Indo-Iranian word family connected with Sanskrit mṛga, meaning a wild animal or creature hunted as game.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-Iranian
PII
*mr̥gás
“Wild animal, game, or hunted creature”
Avestan period
Avestan
mərəγō
“Bird or creature”
Old Persian
Old Persian
margu-
“Bird or animal”
Middle Persian
Middle Persian
murw
“Bird or fowl”
Medieval Persian
Persian
مرغ (morġ/morq)
“Bird, fowl, or chicken”
Modern English
English
murgh
“Chicken, particularly in South Asian food terminology”
Explore more surprising origins