marabou

n. [ F. ] 1. (Zool.) A large black-and-white carrion-eating stork of the genus Leptoptilos (formerly Ciconia), esp. the African species (Leptoptilus crumeniferus syn. Leptoptilos crumenifer), whose downy under-wing feathers are used to trim garments; called also marabout. The Asiatic species (Leptoptilos dubius, or Leptoptilos argala) is the adjutant. See Adjutant. [ Written also marabu. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One having five eighths negro blood; the offspring of a mulatto and a griffe. [ Louisiana ] Bartlett. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A kind of thrown raw silk, nearly white naturally, but capable of being dyed without scouring; also, a thin fabric made from it, as for scarfs, which resembles the feathers of the marabou in delicacy, -- whence the name. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]