PTARMIGAN (Lagopus mutus or alpinus), a gallinaceous bird akin to the grouse (q.v.). The word in Gaelic is tarmachan, which appears from the end of the 16th century in many forms, such as tormican, tarmichen, and even “termagant.”
See also Ptarmigan on Wikipedia; and our 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica disclaimer.
PTARMIGAN (Lagopus mutus or alpinus), a gallinaceous bird akin to the grouse (q.v.). The word in Gaelic is tarmachan, which appears from the end of the 16th century in many forms, such as tormican, tarmichen, and even “termagant.”