pheasant
noun /ˈfeznt/
/ˈfeznt/
[countable, uncountable] (plural pheasants, pheasant)
- a large bird with a long tail, the male of which is brightly coloured. People sometimes shoot pheasants for sport or food. Meat from this bird is also called pheasant.
enlarge image- (British English) to shoot pheasant
- (North American English) to hunt pheasant
- roast pheasant
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French fesan, via Latin from Greek phasianos ‘(bird) of Phasis’, the name of a river in the Caucasus (a mountainous region in SE Europe), from which the bird is supposed to have spread westwards.
