\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.