pelican Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun large long-winged warm-water seabird having a large bill with a distensible pouch for fish

WordNet

Pel"i*can noun
Etymology
F. pélican, L. pelicanus, pelecanus, Gr. , , , the woodpecker, and also a water bird of the pelican kind, fr. to hew with an ax, akin to Skr. para&cced;u.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) Any large webfooted bird of the genus of 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 (P. 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.

Webster 1913