jacanaEnglishOxford New American Dictionaryjacana /ˌZHäkəˈnä, ˌjä- , ˈdʒækənə / (alsojaçana /ˌZHäsəˈnä, ˌjä-/) ▸ noun a small tropical wading bird with greatly elongated toes and claws that enable it to walk on floating vegetation. Also called lily-trotter. FamilyJacanidae: several genera and species. – ORIGIN mid 18th century : from Portuguese jaçanã, from Tupi-Guarani jasanã.