Adjacent Words

Partridge definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

P`ARTRIDGE, n. [L. perdix.] A wild fowl of the genus Tatrao. Latham arranges the partridge and quail in a genus under the name of Perdix, and assigns the grous to the genus Tetrao. The partridge is esteemed a great delicacy at the table.
The term partridge is applied in Pennsylvania to the bird called quail in New England, a peculiar species of Perdix; in New England it is applied to the ruffed grous, a species of Tetrao.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: flesh of either quail or grouse
2: heavy-bodied small-winged South American game bird resembling a gallinaceous bird but related to the ratite birds [syn: tinamou, partridge]
3: small Old World gallinaceous game birds
4: a popular North American game bird; named for its call [syn: bobwhite, bobwhite quail, partridge]
5: valued as a game bird in eastern United States and Canada [syn: ruffed grouse, partridge, Bonasa umbellus]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural partridge or partridges) Etymology: Middle English partrich, modification of Anglo-French perdriz, alteration of Old French perdix, from Latin perdic-, perdix, from Greek perdik-, perdix Date: 14th century 1. any of various typically medium-sized stout-bodied Old World gallinaceous birds (Perdix, Alectoris, and related genera) with variegated plumage that are often hunted as game 2. any of various related birds (as the American ruffed grouse or bobwhite) resembling the Old World partridges in size, habits, or value as game

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. same or partridges) 1 any game-bird of the genus Perdix, esp. P. perdix of Europe and Asia. 2 any other of various similar birds of the family Phasianidae, including the snow partridge. Etymology: ME partrich etc. f. OF perdriz etc. f. L perdix -dicis: for -dge cf. CABBAGE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ruffed Ruffed, a. Furnished with a ruff. Ruffed grouse (Zo["o]l.), a North American grouse (Bonasa umbellus) common in the wooded districts of the Northern United States. The male has a ruff of brown or black feathers on each side of the neck, and is noted for the loud drumming sound he makes during the breeding season. Called also tippet grouse, partridge, birch partridge, pheasant, drummer, and white-flesher. ruffed lemur (Zo["o]l.), a species of lemur (lemur varius) having a conspicuous ruff on the sides of the head. Its color is varied with black and white. Called also ruffed maucaco.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Partridge Par"tridge, n. [OE. partriche, pertriche, OF. pertris, perdriz, F. perdrix, L. perdix, -icis, fr. Gr. ?.] (Zo["o]l.) 1. Any one of numerous species of small gallinaceous birds of the genus Perdix and several related genera of the family Perdicid[ae], of the Old World. The partridge is noted as a game bird. Full many a fat partrich had he in mew. --Chaucer. Note: The common European, or gray, partridge (Perdix cinerea) and the red-legged partridge (Caccabis rubra) of Southern Europe and Asia are well-known species. 2. Any one of several species of quail-like birds belonging to Colinus, and allied genera. [U.S.] Note: Among them are the bobwhite (Colinus Virginianus) of the Eastern States; the plumed, or mountain, partridge (Oreortyx pictus) of California; the Massena partridge (Cyrtonyx Montezum[ae]); and the California partridge (Callipepla Californica). 3. The ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus). [New Eng.] Bamboo partridge (Zo["o]l.), a spurred partridge of the genus Bambusicola. Several species are found in China and the East Indies. Night partridge (Zo["o]l.), the woodcock. [Local, U.S.] Painted partridge (Zo["o]l.), a francolin of South Africa (Francolinus pictus). Partridge berry. (Bot.) (a) The scarlet berry of a trailing american plant (Mitchella repens) of the order Rubiace[ae], having roundish evergreen leaves, and white fragrant flowers sometimes tinged with purple, growing in pairs with the ovaries united, and producing the berries which remain over winter; also, the plant itself. (b) The fruit of the creeping wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens); also, the plant itself. Partridge dove (Zo["o]l.) Same as Mountain witch, under Mountain. Partridge pea (Bot.), a yellow-flowered leguminous herb (Cassia Cham[ae]crista), common in sandy fields in the Eastern United States. Partridge shell (Zo["o]l.), a large marine univalve shell (Dolium perdix), having colors variegated like those of the partridge. Partridge wood (a) A variegated wood, much esteemed for cabinetwork. It is obtained from tropical America, and one source of it is said to be the leguminous tree Andira inermis. Called also pheasant wood. (b) A name sometimes given to the dark-colored and striated wood of some kind of palm, which is used for walking sticks and umbrella handles. Sea partridge (Zo["o]l.), an Asiatic sand partridge (Ammoperdix Bonhami); -- so called from its note. Snow partridge (Zo["o]l.), a large spurred partridge (Lerwa nivicola) which inhabits the high mountains of Asia. Spruce partridge. See under Spruce. Wood partridge, or Hill partridge (Zo["o]l.), any small Asiatic partridge of the genus Arboricola.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(partridges) A partridge is a wild bird with brown feathers, a round body, and a short tail. N-COUNT • Partridge is the flesh of this bird eaten as food. ...a main course of partridge.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(Heb. kore, i.e., "caller"). This bird, unlike our own partridge, is distinguished by "its ringing call-note, which in early morning echoes from cliff to cliff amidst the barrenness of the wilderness of Judea and the glens of the forest of Carmel" hence its Hebrew name. This name occurs only twice in Scripture.

In 1 Sam. 26:20 "David alludes to the mode of chase practised now, as of old, when the partridge, continuously chased, was at length, when fatigued, knocked down by sticks thrown along the ground." It endeavours to save itself "by running, in preference to flight, unless when suddenly started. It is not an inhabitant of the plain or the corn-field, but of rocky hill-sides" (Tristram's Nat. Hist.).

In Jer. 17:11 the prophet is illustrating the fact that riches unlawfully acquired are precarious and short-lived. The exact nature of the illustration cannot be precisely determined. Some interpret the words as meaning that the covetous man will be as surely disappointed as the partridge which gathers in eggs, not of her own laying, and is unable to hatch them; others (Tristram), with more probability, as denoting that the man who enriches himself by unjust means "will as surely be disappointed as the partridge which commences to sit, but is speedily robbed of her hopes of a brood" by her eggs being stolen away from her.

The commonest partridge in Palestine is the Caccabis saxatilis, the Greek partridge. The partridge of the wilderness (Ammo-perdix heyi) is a smaller species. Both are essentially mountain and rock birds, thus differing from the English partridge, which loves cultivated fields.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

par'-trij (qore; Latin perdix; Septuagint, 1Sa 26:20, nuktikorax, "owl," Jer 17:11, perdix): a bird of the family Tetraonidae. The Hebrew word for this bird, qore', means "a caller," and the Latin perdix is supposed to be an imitation of its cry, and as all other nations base their name for the bird on the Latin, it becomes quite evident that it was originally named in imitation of its call. The commonest partridge of Palestine, very numerous in the wilderness and hill country, was a bird almost as large as a pheasant. It had a clear, exquisite cry that attracted attention, especially in the mating season. The partridge of the wilderness was smaller and of beautifully marked plumage. It made its home around the Dead Sea, in the Wilderness of Judea and in rocky caverns. Its eggs were creamy white; its cry very similar to its relatives'. The partridge and its eggs were used for food from time immemorial.

The first reference to it is found in 1Sa 26:20: "Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of Yahweh: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains." David in this dialogue with Saul clearly indicates that if he did not hunt the partridge himself, he knew how it was done. The birds were commonly chased up the mountains and stunned or killed with "throw sticks." David knew how deft these birds were at hiding beside logs and under dry leaves colored so like them as to afford splendid protection; how swiftly they could run; what expert dodgers they were; so he compared taking them with catching a flea. The other reference is found in Jer 17:11: "As the partridge that sitteth on eggs which she hath not laid, so is he that getteth riches, and not by right; in the midst of his days they shall leave him, and at his end he shall be a fool." If this reference is supposed to indicate that partridges are in the habit of brooding on the nest of their kind or of different birds, it fails wholly to take into consideration the history of the bird. Partridges select a location, carefully deposit an egg a day for from 10 to 15 days, sometimes 20, and then brood, so that all the young emerge at one time. But each bird knows and returns to its nest with unfailing regularity. It would require the proverbial "Philadelphia lawyer" to explain this reference to a "partridge sitting on eggs she had not laid." No ornithologist ever could reconcile it to the habits or characteristics of the birds. the King James Version translated these lines, "As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not." This was easy to explain clearly. The eggs of the partridge were delicious food, and any brooding bird whose nest was discovered after only a few days of incubation did not hatch, because she lost her eggs. Also the eggs frequently fall prey to other birds or small animals. Again, they are at the mercy of the elements, sometimes being spoiled by extremely wet cold weather. Poultry fanciers assert that a heavy thunder storm will spoil chicken eggs when hatchingtime is close; the same might be true with eggs of the wild. And almost any wild bird will desert its nest and make its former brooding useless, if the location is visited too frequently by man or beast.

There is also a partridge reference in the Book of Ecclesiasticus 11:29 ff the Revised Version (British and American)): "Bring not every man into thine house; for many are the plots of the deceitful man. As a decoy partridge in a cage, so is the heart of a proud man; and as one that is a spy, he looketh upon thy falling. For he lieth in wait to turn things that are good into evil; and in things that are praiseworthy he will lay blame." The reference is to confining a tame partridge in a hidden cage so that its calls would lure many of its family within range of arrows or "throw sticks" used by concealed hunters.

Gene Stratton-Porter