Poult is a young bird, typically a chick or a juvenile layer or turkey, raised for meat or breeding. In broader use, it refers to a young animal but most often denotes a young turkey or other domestic fowl. The term covers the early life stage, where the bird is not yet mature, and is commonly found in farming and culinary contexts.
"The farmer kept a pen of poults to monitor their growth over the first few weeks."
"We hope the poults will hatch successfully in the incubator and join the flock soon."
"The poults are fragile and require warm, constant brooding as they grow."
"In the farm report, the poults showed steady weight gains after the new feed mix was introduced."
Poult derives from the Old French poulet, meaning a young fowl or chicken, which traces further to the Latin pullus, meaning a young animal. The English use appears in Middle English as poult or poulet, with farm contexts emphasizing a young bird destined for meat. The semantic shift kept the core sense of youth in birds used for food. Early records associate poult with domestic fowl—especially chickens, turkeys, and geese—before the modern specialization of poults as turkey chicks (and the broader poultry sense). The term was established in agricultural vocabulary by the 15th century, retaining its sense of a vulnerable, early-stage bird requiring care and warmth. Over time, poults became a common label on farms and in hatchery literature, distinguishing them from mature birds. In contemporary use, poult appears mainly in farming, poultry science, and culinary writing, often appearing in guidance about brooding, feeding, and growth milestones. First known uses appear in Middle English agricultural glossaries and farm accounts, with a stable, technical sense persisting into modern farming and veterinary contexts.
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Words that rhyme with "Poult"
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Poult is pronounced as /paʊlt/ in US and Australian English, and /pəʊlt/ in many UK dialects. The stress is on the single syllable, with a short, crisp final /t/. For US/AU: start with /p/ then the diphthong /aʊ/ as in 'how' or 'now,' then /lt/. For UK: the /əʊ/ vowel similar to 'goat' without a strong r-color, then /lt/. Quick tip: think 'powlt' with a tight end consonant.
Common mistakes include turning the vowel into a pure /a/ or /oː/ rather than a diphthong, or inserting an extra vowel after the /t/ (e.g., ‘poul-tee’). Some speakers also mute the final /t/ or insert an /r/ sound in rhotic dialects. To correct: keep the vowel as a clean diphthong /aʊ/ (US) or /əʊ/ (UK) and cut off immediately at the /t/ release; avoid vowel-epenthesis and ensure the tongue closes sharply at the /t/.
In US/AU, /paʊlt/ places the diphthong in the first part with a rounded mouth close to ‘pow’, followed by /lt/. In UK, /pəʊlt/ leans on /əʊ/ as in ‘goat’ with less mouth rounding and a more centralized first vowel; the final /t/ remains crisp. Australian English aligns with US, but may shift vowel height slightly lower, and some speakers exhibit a tighter /ɒ/ or /ɔː/ variation before /lt/. Accent differences mainly affect the first vowel quality and lip rounding.
The difficulty lies in the short, clipped nature of the final /lt/ cluster and achieving the right diphthong in the first syllable without adding extra vowels. For some speakers, the /t/ can be unreleased, softening the end, or the vowel length fluctuates before /lt/. Mastery comes from shaping the /aʊ/ or /əʊ/ quickly, then releasing crisply into /lt/.
Poult often confuses learners due to its short, single-syllable footprint and the mouth position for the /t/ at the end. Ensure your tongue tip taps the alveolar ridge for a clear /t/ release, and keep the initial vowel tight to the chosen diphthong. In rapid speech, avoid inserting an extra syllable after /t/; aim for a clean stop after the consonant cluster.
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