Etymologically
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pelican

Etymology and origin of the English word pelican

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From
Latin pelecanus

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈpɛl.ɪ.kən/, /ˈpɛl.ə.kən/[1]

Etymology

It comes from Old English pellican,[2][3][4][5][6] from Late Latin pelecanus,[2][3][4][5][6] from Ancient Greek πελεκάν (pelekán),[2][3][4][5][6] which is related to pélekys “axe”,[3][4] perhaps from the shape of the bird's bill.[3][4] The spelling pelican was influenced by Old French pelican.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The large fish-eating water bird with a pouched bill (Old English, c. 1000).[7][3]

Semantic evolution

The Septuagint used the Greek word to translate a Hebrew bird name.[4] The fable that the pelican feeds its young with its own blood is recorded in English by about 1200;[4] the OED dates the reference to 1398.[7] From it came the figurative application to Christ (1526)[7] and the heraldic “pelican in her piety”.[7] The bird's bill gave the name to a dentist's instrument for extracting teeth (1597)[7] and an alembic with curved tubes (1559).[7][6] Louisiana has been called the Pelican State since at least 1856.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – Old English pellican.[7][3]
  • 1398 – the fable of feeding young with its own blood.[7]
  • 1559 – a kind of alembic.[7]
  • 1597 – a tooth-pulling instrument.[7]
  • 1856 – Pelican State, Louisiana.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Any of various large web-footed water birds of warm regions, with a long bill from which hangs a pouch of skin for catching fish.
  2. A retort or still with curved tubes leading from the head back into the body.

Word family

  • Pelican State
  • brown pelican
  • cormorant
  • gannet

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Pelican.” Etymologically, 14 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/pelican. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·