flamingo (definition)

Fla*min"go (?), n.; pl. Flamingoes (#). [Sp. flamenco, cf. Pg. flamingo, Prov. flammant, F. flamant; prop. a p.pr. meaning flaming. So called in allusion to its color. See Flame.] Zool.

Any bird of the genus Phenicopterus. The flamingoes have webbed feet, very long legs, and a beak bent down as if broken. Their color is usually red or pink. The American flamingo is P. ruber; the European is P. antiquorum.

© Webster 1913.