late 12c., from Old French pertis, alteration of perdis (perhaps influenced by fem. suffix -tris), from Latin perdicem (nominative perdix) "plover, lapwing," from Greek perdix, the Greek partridge, probably related to perdesthai "to break wind," in reference to the whirring noise of the bird's wings, from PIE imitative base *perd- "to break wind" (cognates: Sanskrit pardate "breaks wind," Lithuanian perdzu, Russian perdet, Old High German ferzan, Old Norse freta, Middle English farten).