cassowary
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cas·so·war·y
(kăs′ə-wĕr′ē)n. pl. cas·so·war·ies
Any of several large flightless birds of the genus Casuarius of Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent areas, having a large bony projection on the top of the head and brightly colored wattles.
[Malay kasuari, from eastern Indonesian dialectal Malay, from a source in one of the Malayo-Polynesian languages of the Moluccas and New Guinea; akin to Nuaulu (Malayo-Polynesian language of Seram) asuwan and Haruku (Malayo-Polynesian language of Haruku island, east of Ambon) and Onin (Malayo-Polynesian language of western New Guinea, on which a local pidgin is based) kasawari, all perhaps from an unknown Papuan substrate source.]
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.
cassowary
(ˈkæsəˌwɛərɪ)n, pl -waries
(Animals) any large flightless bird of the genus Casuarius, inhabiting forests in NE Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands, having a horny head crest, black plumage, and brightly coloured neck and wattles: order Casuariiformes. See also ratite
[C17: from Malay kěsuari]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
cas•so•war•y
(ˈkæs əˌwɛr i)n., pl. -war•ies.
any of several large flightless birds of the family Casuariidae, of New Guinea, N Australia, and adjacent islands, having a bare neck and head topped by a bony casque.
[1605–15; « Central Moluccan kasuwari, kasuwali]
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Noun | 1. | cassowary - large black flightless bird of Australia and New Guinea having a horny head crest flightless bird, ratite, ratite bird - flightless birds having flat breastbones lacking a keel for attachment of flight muscles: ostriches; cassowaries; emus; moas; rheas; kiwis; elephant birds Casuarius, genus Casuarius - type and sole genus of the Casuaridae: cassowaries |
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