jaçana

Also found in: Encyclopedia.

ja·ça·na

(zhä′sə-nä′) also ja·ca·na (-kə-)

Any of several tropical or subtropical shorebirds of the family Jacanidae, having long toes adapted for walking on floating vegetation. Also called lily-trotter.

[Portuguese jaçanã, from Tupí jaçanam, jaçanã, one that cries out.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

jaçana

(ˌʒɑːsəˈnɑː; ˌdʒæ-)

(Animals) any bird of the family Jacanidae, of tropical and subtropical marshy regions, having long legs and very long toes that enable walking on floating plants: order Charadriiformes. Also called: lily-trotter

[C18: from Portuguese jaçanã, from Tupi-Guarani jasaná]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014