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guan

American  
[gwahn] / gwɑn /

noun

  1. a large game bird of the curassow family, common in dense woodlands of Central and South America, somewhat resembling a turkey.


guan British  
/ ɡwɑːn /

noun

  1. any gallinaceous bird of the genera Penelope, Pipile, etc, of Central and South America: family Cracidae (curassows)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of guan

First recorded in 1735–45; from Latin American Spanish

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

A hen-like Andean guan and her chicks were perched on a high branch.

From New York Times Apr. 26, 2023

In this case, the one guan note is worth 1,000 coins, as can be seen from the illustration on the 34cm by 22cm note.

From BBC Apr. 19, 2016

The highly toxic herb is likely to be present in a host of botanicals, including Dutchman's pipe, guan mu ton, heart snake root and birthwort.

From Time Magazine Archive

“I no guan seven gray. I eight gray. I teeneyer.”

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

Among the trees was the guan, another peculiar bird as big as a big grouse, and with certain habits of the wood-grouse, but not akin to any northern game-bird.

From Through the Brazilian Wilderness by Roosevelt, Theodore

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