toucan

C2 Topic:Animals
US /ˈtuːˌkæn/ UK /ˈtuːkən/
noun Freq #65424

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    a tropical American bird with a very large, often brightly colored bill

    A toucan reached into the branches with its long orange bill.

Thesaurus

Word family
Forms toucans
Derived forms toucanet
Related forms barbethornbill

Etymology

Borrowed through French, Spanish, or Portuguese from a Tupi word such as tukana for the bird. The Indigenous name may have imitated the toucan's call, though that explanation is uncertain.

Topics

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