Other forms: pelicans
A pelican is a big water bird with a great pouch under its beak. A brown pelican, pelicans diving, the pelican's pouch.
The pouch is a net rather than a store — it scoops water and fish together and the water drains out before swallowing. In Britain a pelican crossing is a pedestrian one with lights, named by a strained acronym rather than after the bird.
1nounpelicanA large water bird with a pouch under its beak.
“A pelican scooped up a fish in its huge beak.”
pelican is a bird.
Latin pelecanus comes from Greek pelekan, apparently from pelekys, an axe, perhaps for the shape of the bill.
Ancient Greek
πελεκάν
Latin
pelecānus
Old English
pellican — pelican
Middle English
pellican
English, today
pelican
Built from
From Middle English pellican, pellicane, from Old English pellican (“pelican”), from Latin pelecānus, from Ancient Greek πελεκάν, πέλεκυς (“hatchet”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA