perdu adjective & noun. [pǝ:'dju:, pɛrdy] Also perdue. L16.
[Old & mod. French, pa. pple of perdre lose from Latin perdere: see PERDITION.]
A. adjective.
1. Posted in, or designating, a sentinel's position that is so dangerous that death is almost inevitable. Only in sentinel perdue, perdue sentinel. L16-L17.
b. Placed in a very hazardous situation; (of a case) desperate. E-M17.

2. Hidden and on the watch; lying in ambush. Chiefly in lie perdu, set perdu, stand perdu, etc. E17.
■ E. A. Bartlett Plenty of Greeks lying perdu about..the wood.

3. Concealed, hidden; out of sight; disguised. E18.
■ W. Irving Honest, good-fellow qualities..which had lain perdue.
■ Baroness Orczy This untenanted cottage..lay perdu, off both the main and the secondary roads.
B. noun.
1. A soldier in a very hazardous situation; a body of such soldiers, a forlorn hope; a soldier on watch or on guard; a spy. E17-M18.

2. A morally abandoned person; a profligate. E-M17.

► Orig. introduced from the French military phr. sentinelle perdue, and so spelt as fem. perdue; now usu. spelt according to gender.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲