Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Pelican
Pel′i-can
(pĕl′ĭ-kan)
, Noun.
[F.
pélican
, L. pelicanus
, pelecanus
, Gr. πελεκάν
, πελεκᾶς
, πελέκανος
, the woodpecker, and also a water bird of the pelican kind, fr. πελεκᾶν
to hew with an ax, fr. πέλεκυσ
an ax, akin to Skr. paraçu
.] [Written also
pelecan
.] 1.
(Zool.)
Any large webfooted bird of the genus
Pelecanus
, of which about a dozen species are known. They have an enormous bill, to the lower edge of which is attached a pouch in which captured fishes are temporarily stored. ☞ The American white pelican (
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
) and the brown species (Pelecanus fuscus
) are abundant on the Florida coast in winter, but breed about the lakes in the Rocky Mountains and British America. 2.
(Old Chem.)
A retort or still having a curved tube or tubes leading back from the head to the body for continuous condensation and redistillation.
☞ The principle is still employed in certain modern forms of distilling apparatus.
Frigate pelican
(Zool.)
, the frigate bird. See under
– Frigate
. Pelican fish
(Zool.)
, deep-sea fish (
– Eurypharynx pelecanoides
) of the order Lyomeri
, remarkable for the enormous development of the jaws, which support a large gular pouch. Pelican flower
(Bot.)
, the very large and curiously shaped blossom of a climbing plant (
– Aristolochia grandiflora
) of the West Indies; also, the plant itself. Pelican ibis
(Zool.)
, a large Asiatic wood ibis (
– Tantalus leucocephalus
). The head and throat are destitute of feathers; the plumage is white, with the quills and the tail greenish black. Pelican in her piety
(in heraldry and symbolical art), a representation of a pelican in the act of wounding her breast in order to nourish her young with her blood; – a practice fabulously attributed to the bird, on account of which it was adopted as a symbol of the Redeemer, and of charity.
– Pelican’s foot
(Zool.)
, a marine gastropod shell of the genus
Aporrhais
, esp. Aporrhais pes-pelicani
of Europe.Webster 1828 Edition
Pelican
PEL'ICAN
,Noun.
1.
A fowl of the genus Pelicanus. It is larger than the swan, and remarkable for its enormous bill, to the lower edges of the under chop of which is attached a pouch or bag, capable of being distended so as to hold many quarts of water. In this bag the fowl deposits the fish is takes for food.2.
A chimical glass vessel or alembic with a tubulated capital, from which two opposite and crooked beaks pass out and enter again at the belly of the cucurbit. It is designed for continued distillation and cohobation; the volatile parts of the substance distilling, rising into the capital and returning through the beaks into the cucurbit.Definition 2024
pelican
pelican
See also: pélican
English
Pelicans.
Noun
pelican (plural pelicans)
- Any of various seabirds of the family Pelecanidae, having a long bill with a distendable pouch.
- A native or resident of the American state of Louisiana.
- (chemistry, obsolete) A retort or still having a curved tube or tubes leading back from the head to the body for continuous condensation and redistillation.
- (dentistry) A set of forceps used to force overcrowded teeth apart.
Derived terms
Translations
any of various seabirds of the family Pelecanidae
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Anagrams
Occitan
Etymology
Noun
pelican m (plural pelicans)
- pelican (any of various seabirds of the family Pelecanidae)
Derived terms
- pelican australian
- pelican cresp
- pelican del Pero
- pelican ròsa
- pelican vulgar
Romanian
Alternative forms
- pelecan (dated)
Etymology
Borrowing from French pélican, from Latin pelicānus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pe.liˈkan/
Noun
pelican m (plural pelicani)
- pelican (any of various seabirds of the family Pelecanidae)
Declension
declension of pelican
Derived terms
- pelican comun
- pelican creț
- pelicanol
Related terms
- pelecaniforme
See also
- steganipod
References
- pelican in DEX online - Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language), 2004-2016