shoebill

[ shoo-bil ]
/ ˈʃuˌbɪl /

noun

a large, African, storklike bird, Balaeniceps rex, having a broad, flattened bill shaped somewhat like a shoe.

Origin of shoebill

First recorded in 1870–75; shoe + bill2

Words nearby shoebill

shoddy, shoe, shoe boil, shoe is on the other foot, the, shoe leather, shoebill, shoeblack, shoebox, shoebrush, shoehorn, shoelace

Example sentences from the Web for shoebill

  • Hastily I rushed her out into the garden, where the Shoebill regarded her with one eye of prehistoric wisdom.

    It Happened in Egypt |C. N. Williamson

British Dictionary definitions for shoebill

shoebill
/ (ˈʃuːˌbɪl) /

noun

a large wading bird, Balaeniceps rex, of tropical E African swamps, having a dark plumage, a large head, and a large broad bill: family Balaenicipitidae, order Ciconiiformes

Word Origin for shoebill

C19: so named because of the shape of its bill