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Added 9 October 2026

pheasant

/ˈfɛzənt/ noun

In Latin: phāsiānus Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about pheasant at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A bird of family Phasianidae, often hunted for food.
The meat of this bird, eaten as food.

Origin

From Middle English fesaunt, fesant, from Old French fesan, from Latin phāsiānus, from Ancient Greek φᾱσιανός (phāsianós), meaning “[bird] of the river Φᾶσις (Phâsis)”, from where, it was supposed, the bird spread to the west. Replaced native Old English wōrhana, a variant of mōrhana. More at moorhen.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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