pelican

Definition

Any of various seabirds of the family Pelecanidae, having a long bill with a distendable pouch.

Etymology

From Middle English pellican, pellicane, from Old English pellican (“pelican”), from Latin pelecānus, from Ancient Greek πελεκάν (pelekán), πέλεκυς (pélekus, “hatchet”).

Example Sentences

• "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."
• "Pelicans fly below us with stiffly formal strokes, and gulls wheel and keen."