Partridge Pea
/ˈpɑːr.trɪdʒ piː/noun
A North American flowering legume, especially Chamaecrista fasciculata, whose seeds are eaten by game birds.
Did you know?Partridge pea is a legume that can enrich soil through nitrogen fixation, while its flowers attract bees and its seeds feed birds.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*perd-
“An imitative root associated with the partridge’s characteristic call”
Ancient Greek
Greek
πέρδιξ (perdix)
“Partridge”
Classical Latin
Latin
perdix
“Partridge”
Old French
Old French
perdriz
“Partridge”
Middle English
English
pertrich
“Partridge; a game bird”
Middle English
English
pease
“The edible seed of a pea plant, from Latin pisum through Germanic forms”
18th–19th Century
English
partridge pea
“A common name for North American Cassia and Chamaecrista plants, referring to their pea-like seeds and use as food by partridges or other game birds”