hornbill

[ hawrn-bil ]

/ ˈhɔrnˌbɪl /

noun

any large bird of the family Bucerotidae, of the Old World tropics, characterized by a very large bill usually surmounted by a horny protuberance.

Nearby words

Origin of hornbill

First recorded in 1765–75; horn + bill²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hornbill

When the hornbill has severed a berry, it tosses it into the air, catches it in the bill as it falls, and then swallows it.
Glimpses of Indian Birds|Douglas Dewar
He was able even to identify the species, for there are many species of hornbill, known under the generic name, Bucerus.
The Cliff Climbers|Captain Mayne Reid
Coracias afra and Abyssinica live only in the lower country, also the various kinds of Hornbill.
The Highlands of Ethiopia|William Cornwallis Harris
There is an African bird called the hornbill, whose habits are in some respects a model.
Women and the Alphabet|Thomas Wentworth Higginson

Some of them wore on the head the scarlet beak of the hornbill; these had taken heads.
The Head Hunters of Northern Luzon From Ifugao to Kalinga|Cornelis De Witt Willcox

British Dictionary definitions for hornbill

hornbill

/ (ˈhɔːnˌbɪl) /

noun

any bird of the family Bucerotidae of tropical Africa and Asia, having a very large bill with a basal bony protuberance: order Coraciiformes (kingfishers, etc)

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

Word Origin and History for hornbill

hornbill

1773, from horn (n.) + bill (n.2).