How the turkey trotted its way onto our Thanksgiving tables — and into our lexicon

One of the two national Thanksgiving turkeys, Waddle and Gobble, which were presented to journalists in the Willard Room of the Willard InterContinental on November 24, 2025 in Washington, DC., for the 78th annual Turkey Pardoning at the White House.

Much of the turkey's early history is shrouded in uncertainty, historians and etymologists say — which is particularly true of how the bird got its name.

(Image credit: Anna Moneymaker)