Cassowary

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Cassowary \Cas"so*wa*ry\, n.; pl. {Cassowaries}. [Malay
     kasu[=a]ri.] (Zool.)
     A large bird, of the genus {Casuarius}, found in the east
     Indies. It is smaller and stouter than the ostrich. Its head
     is armed with a kind of helmet of horny substance, consisting
     of plates overlapping each other, and it has a group of long


     sharp spines on each wing which are used as defensive organs.
     It is a shy bird, and runs with great rapidity. Other species
     inhabit New Guinea, Australia, etc.
     [1913 Webster] Cassumunar

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  cassowary
       n : large black flightless bird of Australia and New Guinea
           having a horny head crest