pelican

Pelican comes from Middle English pellican, from Old English pellican, from Latin pelecānus, from Ancient Greek πελεκάν (pelekán), which is related to πέλεκυς (pélekus), meaning 'hatchet'.

The word passed from Greek into Latin, then into Old and Middle English, keeping essentially the same meaning as it moved between languages.

Its deepest root, Greek pélekus, means 'hatchet' — suggesting the bird's name may have been shaped by the axe-like look of its bill or beak.