/uy"bis/ , n. , pl. ibises , ( esp. collectively ) ibis .
1. any of several large wading birds of the family Threskiornithidae, of warm temperate and tropical regions, related to the herons and storks, and characterized by a long, thin, downward-curved bill. Cf. sacred ibis .
2. any of certain similar birds belonging to the stork family Ciconiidae, esp. the wood stork, Mycteria americana.
[ 1350-1400; ME ibis îbis hb ]