Gāl'li-nā'ceous, a.

(gāl'li-nā'shus), a. [Lat. gallinaceus, from gallina, hen, gallus, cock; Fr. gallinacée, It. gallinaccio.] (Ornith.) Belonging to an order of birds characterized by a rather stout body, a short and straight bill, of which the upper part overlaps the under all round, and by generally feeding on seeds and insects which they scratch up from the ground with their claws, hence being sometimes called rasorial birds; as the common domestic fowls, or those of the pheasant kind.