pou, noun

/pəʊ/
Forms:
α. phow, pouShow more phow, pou, pouw, pow;
β. paauw, paouShow more paauw, paou, paouw, paow, pau, pauuw, pauw, peau.
Origin:
South African Dutch, Afrikaans, DutchShow more South African Dutch (later Afrikaans), transferred use of Dutch pauw peacock.
1. Any of several species of large bustard of the Otididae, especially: a. The kori, Ardeotis kori. b. Neotis ludwigii, ‘Ludwig’s bustard’. c. The white-bellied korhaan (see korhaan sense 1 b), Eupodotis cafra. d. Neotis denhami, ‘Stanley’s bustard’.
α.
1798 Lady A. Barnard Lett. to Henry Dundas (1973) 135We dined..and had..Johnnie’s pow, stewed and then baked..I never tasted any sort of game equal to it for delicacy and flavour.
1827 G. Thompson Trav. 96I saw..the pouw, which is a sort of large bustard, and very delicate eating.
1835 T.H. Bowker Journal. 4 MayOne of the riflemen Shot a pow for which Leslie gave him half a pound of baccy.
1856 R.E.E. Wilmot Diary (1984) 131After some time the wild bustards or pouws, the magnificent secretary birds..will oblige him to confess that South Africa yields to no country in the world for ornithological interest...The wary pouw shows afar off in his strongly contrasting whites and browns.
1862 J.S. Dobie S. Afr. Jrnl (1945) 30Came upon some fine large bustards called by the Dutch paus (pows) and also some oribi.
c1881 A. Douglass Ostrich Farming 146After some time it was discovered that the guinea-fowls, pows, corhans, fowls, and many of the small birds throughout the country had contracted the disease.
1892 Daily News 8 Mar. 5Shooting in all two quagga, two koodoo,..and a pow,..an enormous bird, standing about 4ft. high, chiefly body.
1909 Lady S. Wilson S. Afr. Mem. 84We now traversed a fine open grassy country, very desolate...The only signs of life were various fine ‘pows’..or ‘korans,’..or a covey of guinea-fowl.
1959 Cape Argus 3 Jan. (Mag. Sect.) 8Even the beginner in bird lore would not look for..a pou in the Knysna forest.
1966 E. Palmer Plains of Camdeboo 33Fanny’s pot-roasted venison and pou, her van der Hum made of brandy, syrup and naartjie peel, her pickled peaches,..are still remembered.
1975 W. Steenkamp Land of Thirst King 135A forbidden fruit one still finds in fair numbers in the North-West is the pou, or great bustard. The pou is a handsome bird and very good eating. There also happens to be a long-standing ban on hunting it.
β.
1800 G. Yonge in S.D. Naudé Kaapse Plakkaatboek Deel V (1950) 209As pauws or wild peacocks are becoming extremely scarce, I do hereby order that till twelve months shall have expired.., none shall be killed or destroyed within one hundred miles of the Cape Town.
1837 ‘N. Polson’ Subaltern’s Sick Leave 118There are many varieties of the korhaan and a few of the paauw or peacock as it is here called, being exactly the bustard of India.
1860 J. Sanderson in Jrnl of Royal Geog. Soc. XXX. 239We had no time to shoot a paauw or bustard, so dined off wildebeest-steaks and stew.
1872 C.A. Payton Diamond Diggings 39The ‘paauw’, or Cape bustard, a fine large bird, the size of a turkey, with very strong wings, handsome plumage, and excellent eating.
1881 P. Gillmore Land of Boer 245I shot a pauw, a bird weighing over fifty pounds’ weight; it is a member of the bustard family, and possesses beautiful plumage.
1898 W.C. Scully Between Sun & SandImmense wild bustards, or, as they are called, ‘paauws’, come over from the Kalahari Desert in large flocks.
1915 W. Eveleigh S.W. Afr. 76There are several species of bustard, notable among them being the big Kori bustard, or Dutch pauuw, Otis Kori, which sometimes stands as high as 5 feet and weighs 40 pounds.
1939 S. Cloete Watch for Dawn 39To make this feast there had been a great killing: of oxen,..of wildfowl, guineas, pauws, and pheasants.
1941 M. Higham Hsehold Cookery 89Paauws should be skinned, not plucked, as this removes an unpleasantly strong flavour.
1958 S. Cloete Mask 186He put up a giant pau, the great bustard that was common here.
1967 O. Walker Hippo Poacher 150Tom moved off with the shot gun, and presently sighted some fine plump pauws, difficult birds to shoot but very tasty and full of meat.
1991 [see kori].
2. With defining word: (all obsolete)
bush pou, kori;
vlakpou, vlaktepou /ˈflak(tə)-/ [Afrikaans, vlakte plains], korhaan sense 1 a;
wild pou or wilde pou /ˈvəldə -/ [Afrikaans, wilde; cf. wild], kori. See also gompou.
β.
1907 J.P. Fitzpatrick Jock of Bushveld 336There were plenty of birds — guinea-fowl, pheasant, partridge, knoorhaan and bush pauw.
c1936 S. & E. Afr. Yr Bk & Guide 577Birds are represented by two sorts of Bustards (gom paauw and vlakte paauw) three koorhaan, guinea fowl, two partridge, quail, dikkop thick head, geese, ducks and snipe.
1937 H. Sauer Ex Afr. 53The gom paauw is the largest variety [of bustard],..though in size he is closely approached by his cousin the vlak paauw.
1801 J. Barrow Trav. I. 139A third which appeared to be by much the finest bird in South Africa..called here the wild pauw, or wild peacock.
1822 W.J. Burchell Trav. I. 393We shot a large bird of the bustard kind, which was called Wilde Paauw (Wild Peacock).
1834 T. Pringle Afr. Sketches 515The Wilde Paauw (wild peacock) is a large species of Otis, about the size of the Norfolk bustard, and is esteemed the richest flavoured of all the African feathered game.
The kori, Ardeotis kori.
Neotis ludwigii, ‘Ludwig’s bustard’.
The white-bellied korhaan (see korhaan sense 1 b), Eupodotis cafra.
Neotis denhami, ‘Stanley’s bustard’.
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