Added 10 October 2026
partridge
/ˈpɑːtɹɪd͡ʒ/ noun
In Latin: perdīx Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about partridge at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
Any bird of a number of genera in the family Phasianidae, notably in the genera Perdix and Alectoris.
On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me a partridge in a pear tree.
- The flesh or meat of this bird eaten as food.
- A type of cannon charge composed of several missiles fired all together, similar to langrage or case-shot. Also a large cannon that shoots stones.
Origin
From Middle English partrich, partriche, pertriche, perdriz, from Old French perdriz, partriz, from Latin perdīx (“partridge”), from Ancient Greek πέρδιξ (pérdix, “partridge”), probably from πέρδομαι (pérdomai, “to fart”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)