Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913
Partlet
Part′let (pärt′lĕt), n. [Dim. of part.] 1. A covering for the neck, and sometimes for the shoulders and breast; originally worn by both sexes, but laterby women alone; a ruff. [Obs.] Fuller.
2. A hen; — so called from the ruffing of her neck feathers. "Dame Partlett, the hen." Shak.