Definition of pelican Pelican

/pɛˈlʌkʌn/ - [pelukun] - pel•i•can

We found 12 definitions of pelican from 9 different sources.

What does pelican mean?

Noun Plural: pelicans
pelican - large long-winged warm-water seabird having a large bill with a distensible pouch for fish
		pelecaniform seabird large fish-eating seabird with four-toed webbed feet
		family pelecanidae, pelecanidae pelicans
		pelecanus erythrorhynchos, white pelican large American pelican; white with black wing feathers

= synonym
= antonym
= related word

pelican (Noun)
Any of various seabirds of the family Pelecanidae, having a long bill with a distendable pouch.
pelican (Noun)
A native or resident of the American state of Louisiana.

pelican (n.)
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.
pelican (n.)
A retort or still having a curved tube or tubes leading back from the head to the body for continuous condensation and redistillation.

pelican
Large water bird belonging to the family Pelecanidae. They are characterised by a long beak and large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped up contents before swallowing.

pelican
pel′i-kan, n. a large water-fowl, having an enormous distensible gular pouch: an alembic with tubulated head from which two opposite and crooked beaks extend and enter again the body of the vessel—used for continuous distillation: a dentist's instrument: (her.) a pelican above her nest, with wings indorsed, wounding her breast with her beak in order to feed her young with her blood. [Low L. pelicanus—Gr. pelikan—pelekus, an axe.]

pelican
An ancient name for a 6-pounder culverin, 9 feet long and weighing 2400 pounds.
pelican
In heraldry, the pelican is drawn with her wings endorsed, and wounding her breast with her beak. When represented in her nest feeding her young with her blood, she is called a pelican in her piety.