Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Pelican \Pel"i*can\, n. [F. p['e]lican, L. pelicanus, pelecanus,
   Gr. ?, ?, ?, the woodpecker, and also a water bird of the
   pelican kind, fr. ? to hew with an ax, akin to Skr.
   para[,c]u.] [Written also {pelecan}.]
   1. (Zo["o]l.) Any large webfooted bird of the genus
      {Pelecanus}, of which about a dozen species are known.
      They have an enormous bill, to the lower edge of which is
      attached a pouch in which captured fishes are temporarily
      stored.

   Note: The American white pelican ({Pelecanus
         erythrorhynchos}) and the brown species ({P. fuscus})
         are abundant on the Florida coast in winter, but breed
         about the lakes in the Rocky Mountains and British
         America.

   2. (Old Chem.) A retort or still having a curved tube or
      tubes leading back from the head to the body for
      continuous condensation and redistillation.

   Note: The principle is still employed in certain modern forms
         of distilling apparatus.

   {Frigate pelican} (Zo["o]l.), the frigate bird. See under
      {Frigate}.

   {Pelican fish} (Zo["o]l.), deep-sea fish ({Eurypharynx
      pelecanoides}) of the order {Lyomeri}, remarkable for the
      enormous development of the jaws, which support a large
      gular pouch.

   {Pelican flower} (Bot.), the very large and curiously shaped
      blossom of a climbing plant ({Aristolochia grandiflora})
      of the West Indies; also, the plant itself.

   {Pelican ibis} (Zo["o]l.), a large Asiatic wood ibis
      ({Tantalus leucocephalus}). The head and throat are
      destitute of feathers; the plumage is white, with the
      quills and the tail greenish black.

   {Pelican in her piety} (in heraldry and symbolical art), a
      representation of a pelican in the act of wounding her
      breast in order to nourish her young with her blood; -- a
      practice fabulously attributed to the bird, on account of
      which it was adopted as a symbol of the Redeemer, and of
      charity.

   {Pelican's foot} (Zo["o]l.), a marine gastropod shell of the
      genus {Aporrhais}, esp. {Aporrhais pes-pelicani} of
      Europe.

Frigate \Frig"ate\, n. [F. fr['e]gate, It. fregata, prob.
   contracted fr. L. fabricata something constructed or. built.
   See {Fabricate}.]
   1. Originally, a vessel of the Mediterranean propelled by
      sails and by oars. The French, about 1650, transferred the
      name to larger vessels, and by 1750 it had been
      appropriated for a class of war vessels intermediate
      between corvettes and ships of the line. Frigates, from
      about 1750 to 1850, had one full battery deck and, often,
      a spar deck with a lighter battery. They carried sometimes
      as many as fifty guns. After the application of steam to
      navigation steam frigates of largely increased size and
      power were built, and formed the main part of the navies
      of the world till about 1870, when the introduction of
      ironclads superseded them. [Formerly spelled {frigat} and
      {friggot}.]

   2. Any small vessel on the water. [Obs.] --Spenser.

   {Frigate bird} (Zo["o]l.), a web-footed rapacious bird, of
      the genus {Fregata}; -- called also {man-of-war bird}, and
      {frigate pelican}. Two species are known; that of the
      Southern United States and West Indies is {F. aquila}.
      They are remarkable for their long wings and powerful
      flight. Their food consists of fish which they obtain by
      robbing gulls, terns, and other birds, of their prey. They
      are related to the pelicans.

   {Frigate mackerel} (Zo["o]l.), an oceanic fish ({Auxis
      Rochei}) of little or no value as food, often very
      abundant off the coast of the United States.

   {Frigate pelican}. (Zo["o]l.) Same as {Frigate bird}.