Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Perdu

Perdu (pẽr*dū" or pẽr"du) , noun

[See Perdu, a.]

1.
One placed on watch, or in ambush.
2.
A soldier sent on a forlorn hope. — Shakespeare

Perdu (pẽr*dū" or pẽr"du) , adjective

[French perdu, f. perdue, lost, past participle of perdre to lose, Latin perdere. See Perdition.]

1.
Lost to view; in concealment or ambush.
He should lie perdue who is to walk the round. — Fuller
2.
Accustomed to, or employed in, desperate enterprises; hence, reckless; hopeless.
A perdue captain. — Beau. & Fl

Also: Perdue