Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “partridge” come from?

Partridge comes from Middle English partrich, from Old French perdriz, from Latin perdix, from Ancient Greek πέρδιξ, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root perd- meaning to break wind.

partridge (English): Any bird of a number of genera in the family...

Definitions

  1. Any bird of a number of genera in the family...

Ancestry of “partridge”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishpartrichpartridge; The meat of a a partridge
2Old Frenchperdrizpartridge
3Latinperdīx—
4Ancient Greekπέρδιξpartridge
5Ancient Greekπέρδομαιto fart, break wind
6Proto-Hellenicpérdomaito fart loudly
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpérdetorto be farting
8Proto-Indo-Europeanperd-to fart loudly, pass gas, break wind

Words derived from “partridge”

  • partridgeberry
  • partridgelike
Every word from Proto-Indo-European perd- →