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pelicanmore about pelican

pelican

 

  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Pelican  \Pel"i*can\,  n.  [F.  p['e]lican,  L.  pelicanus,  pelecanus, 
  Gr  ?,  ?,  ?,  the  woodpecker,  and  also  a  water  bird  of  the 
  pelican  kind  fr  ?  to  hew  with  an  ax  akin  to  Skr. 
  para[,c]u.]  [Written  also  {pelecan}.] 
  1.  (Zo["o]l.)  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. 
 
  Note:  The  American  white  pelican  ({Pelecanus 
  erythrorhynchos})  and  the  brown  species  ({P.  fuscus}) 
  are  abundant  on  the  Florida  coast  in  winter,  but  breed 
  about  the  lakes  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  British 
  America. 
 
  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 
 
  Note:  The  principle  is  still  employed  in  certain  modern  forms 
  of  distilling  apparatus. 
 
  {Frigate  pelican}  (Zo["o]l.),  the  frigate  bird.  See  under 
  {Frigate}. 
 
  {Pelican  fish}  (Zo["o]l.),  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}  (Zo["o]l.),  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}  (Zo["o]l.),  a  marine  gastropod  shell  of  the 
  genus  {Aporrhais},  esp.  {Aporrhais  pes-pelicani}  of 
  Europe. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  pelican 
  n  :  large  long-winged  warm-water  seabird  having  a  large  bill 
  with  a  distensible  pouch  for  fish 
 
  From  U.S.  Gazetteer  (1990)  [gazetteer]: 
 
  Pelican,  AK  (city,  FIPS  59650) 
  Location:  57.95316  N,  136.20985  W 
  Population  (1990):  222  (98  housing  units) 
  Area:  1.4  sq  km  (land),  0.2  sq  km  (water) 
  Pelican,  LA 
  Zip  code(s):  71063




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