toucan

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

/ ˈtu kæn, -kɑn, tuˈkɑn /

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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.

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Origin of toucan

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

Words nearby toucan

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

How to use toucan in a sentence

“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
Its topmost branch, when naked with age or dried by accident, is the favourite resort of the toucan.
Wanderings in South America|Charles Waterton
I believe the bird is a kind of toucan or hornbill, but the people here call it a crane.
A Voyage in the 'Sunbeam'|Annie Allnut Brassey
At 301 our mess table, over the dishes of toucan and parrot supplied by the camp hunters, they rallied each other boisterously.
The Sea and the Jungle|H. M. Tomlinson

If the extraordinary form and size of the bill expose the toucan to ridicule, its colours make it amends.
Wanderings in South America|Charles Waterton
Here, also, the forests are adorned with the gay plumage of the red and blue macaws, as also by a toucan with a yellow tail.
The Western World|W.H.G. Kingston

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