PARTRIDGE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does partridge mean? 

• PARTRIDGE (noun)
  The noun PARTRIDGE has 5 senses:

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

3. small Old World gallinaceous game birds

4. a popular North American game bird; named for its call

5. valued as a game bird in eastern United States and Canada

  Familiarity information: PARTRIDGE used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PARTRIDGE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Flesh of either quail or grouse

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("partridge" is a kind of...):

wildfowl (flesh of any of a number of wild game birds suitable for food)

Domain region:

America; the States; U.S.; U.S.A.; United States; United States of America; US; USA (North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Heavy-bodied small-winged South American game bird resembling a gallinaceous bird but related to the ratite birds

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

partridge; tinamou

Hypernyms ("partridge" is a kind of...):

game bird (any bird (as grouse or pheasant) that is hunted for sport)

Holonyms ("partridge" is a member of...):

family Tinamidae; Tinamidae (comprising the tinamous)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Small Old World gallinaceous game birds

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("partridge" is a kind of...):

phasianid (a kind of game bird in the family Phasianidae)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "partridge"):

gray partridge; grey partridge; Hungarian partridge; Perdix perdix (common European partridge)

Alectoris ruffa; red-legged partridge (common western European partridge with red legs)

Alectoris graeca; Greek partridge; rock partridge (of mountainous areas of southern Europe)

mountain partridge; mountain quail; Oreortyx picta palmeri (California partridge; slightly larger than the California quail)

Holonyms ("partridge" is a member of...):

Perdicidae; Perdicinae; subfamily Perdicidae; subfamily Perdicinae (Old World partridges)

covey (a small flock of grouse or partridge)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A popular North American game bird; named for its call

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

bobwhite; bobwhite quail; partridge

Hypernyms ("partridge" is a kind of...):

quail (small gallinaceous game birds)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "partridge"):

Colinus virginianus; northern bobwhite (a favorite game bird of eastern and central United States)

Holonyms ("partridge" is a member of...):

Colinus; genus Colinus (New World quail: the bobwhites)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Valued as a game bird in eastern United States and Canada

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

Bonasa umbellus; partridge; ruffed grouse

Hypernyms ("partridge" is a kind of...):

grouse (popular game bird having a plump body and feathered legs and feet)

Holonyms ("partridge" is a member of...):

Bonasa; genus Bonasa (ruffed grouse)

 Context examples 

The people in the log-house had them in every way; they stood quiet in shelter and shot the others like partridges.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

These insects were as large as partridges: I took out their stings, found them an inch and a half long, and as sharp as needles.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Partridges and woodpeckers were booming and knocking in the forest.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Quite an elegant dish of fish; the kidney-end of a loin of veal, roasted; fried sausage-meat; a partridge, and a pudding.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The soup was fifty times better than what we had at the Lucases' last week; and even Mr. Darcy acknowledged, that the partridges were remarkably well done; and I suppose he has two or three French cooks at least.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

For a day at a time he would lie in the underbrush where he could watch the partridges drumming and strutting up and down.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)