From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Pelican \Pel"i*can\ (p[e^]l"[i^]*kan), n. [F. p['e]lican, L.
pelicanus, pelecanus, Gr. peleka`n, peleka^s, pele`kanos, the
woodpecker, and also a water bird of the pelican kind, fr.
peleka^n to hew with an ax, fr. pe`lekys an ax, akin to Skr.
para[,c]u.] [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.
[1913 Webster]
Note: 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.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The principle is still employed in certain modern forms
of distilling apparatus.
[1913 Webster]
{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.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
pelican
n 1: large long-winged warm-water seabird having a large bill
with a distensible pouch for fish
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