American white pelican

noun

: the white, orange-billed pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) of North and Central America : white pelican

We stopped to marvel as American white pelicans floated in the air with their nine-foot wingspans.

—Jeff Schlegel, New York Times, 4 Sept. 2009

Word History

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined above

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