pelican
See also: pélican
English

a pelican
Alternative forms
- pelecan (archaic)
Etymology
From Middle English pellican, pellicane, from Old English pellican (“pelican”), from Latin pelecānus, from Ancient Greek πελεκάν (pelekán), πέλεκυς (pélekus, “hatchet”).
Noun
pelican (plural pelicans)
- Any of various seabirds of the family Pelecanidae, having a long bill with a distendable pouch.
- 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 54:
- The old have outlived that mental world we so misname in calling it a world of enjoyment;—they have outlived the feverish dreams which waste those keen hopes—the pelicans of the heart, feeding on the life-blood of their parent;—they have now no part in the excitement of success, whether in its desire or disappointment.
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- 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.
- Synonym: dental pelican
Derived terms
- dental pelican
- pelican crossing
- pelican pot
- pelican spider
- Pelican State
- pelicanist
- pelicanlike
Translations
any of various seabirds of the family Pelecanidae
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Middle English
Occitan
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Derived terms
- pelican australian
- pelican cresp
- pelican del Pero
- pelican ròsa
- pelican vulgar
Romanian
Alternative forms
- pelecan (dated)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pe.liˈkan/
Declension
Declension of pelican
Derived terms
Related terms
- pelecaniforme
See also
- steganipod
References
- pelican in DEX online - Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)
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