toucan

[ too-kan, -kahn, too-kahn ]

/ ˈtu kæn, -kɑn, tuˈkɑn /

noun

any of several usually brightly colored, fruit-eating birds of the family Ramphastidae, of tropical America, having a very large bill.

(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Tucana.

Nearby words

tottering, tottery, tottie, totting, totty, toucan, toucanet, touch, touch and go, touch base with, touch bottom

Origin of toucan

1550–60; < French < Portuguese tucano < Tupi tucan (imitative of its cry)

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

Examples from the Web for toucan

“One day I wore a multicolored dress and someone asked if I was trying to be Toucan Sam,” she said.
Was Ann Curry Fired For Her Style?|Isabel Wilkinson|August 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It was very different from every species of the toucan that is represented by Edwards, and I believe has never been described.
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 12|Robert Kerr
His ornithological knowledge went no further than to the birds of Bengal; and the toucan is found only in America.
The Cliff Climbers|Captain Mayne Reid
It is enough for our present purpose to say that in no particular does it bear any conceivable resemblance to the toucan.
Animal Carvings from Mounds of the Mississippi Valley|Henry W. Henshaw

This last they roll up in plantain leaves and smoke, or snuff an infusion of it through the nose from the upper bill of a toucan.
The Andes and the Amazon|James Orton
Over thirty species of that peculiar bird, the toucan, have been secured here.
Equatorial America|Maturin M. Ballou

British Dictionary definitions for toucan

toucan

/ (ˈtuːkən) /

noun

any tropical American arboreal fruit-eating bird of the family Ramphastidae, having a large brightly coloured bill with serrated edges and a bright plumage

Word Origin for toucan

C16: from French, from Portuguese tucano, from Tupi tucana, probably imitative of its cry

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