Meaning

noun large long-tailed gallinaceous bird native to the Old World but introduced elsewhere

noun flesh of a pheasant; usually braised

originFrom Middle English fesaunt, fesant, from Old French fesan, from Latin phāsiānus, from Ancient Greek φᾱσιανός (phāsianós), meaning “[bird] of the river Φᾶσις (Phâsis)”, from where, it was supposed, the bird spread to the west. Replaced native Old English wōrhana, a variant of mōrhana. More at moorhen.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0