guano

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)Dung from a sea bird or from a bat.

   “The guano, so extensively used for manure, is full of the most beautiful infusoria, some of them splendidly iridiscent; and there is no better method of testing the genuineness of this useful substance than by the microscope.”

   “In the second experiment, a comparative trial was made between guano and bone-dust mixed with coal ashes.”

   “Low-grade phosphatic guanos can be mixed with coffee hulls and pulp, which contain a small amount of potash.”

   “The great white bat has great white guano!”

2. (countable, uncountable)Coccothrinax borhidiana, a variety of palm tree indigenous to Cuba.

   “A roof made of guano palm fronds will last up to 15 years, although Maya harvesters point out that the leaves must be cut when the moon is full; otherwise, the stems become susceptible to insect damage.”

3. (countable, obsolete, uncountable)A variety of seabird.

   “The Animals of these Islands, are some Hogs, Lizards, and Guanoes; and some of those Creatures mentioned in Chap. XI. which are like, but much bigger than the Guano.”

   “Dampier observes, that no part of the globe is so well stocked with guanoes and land-tortoises as the Gallapagos. The guanoes are fat, tame, and of an extraordinary size.”

   “These they call Guanoes, and the dung Guano, the Indian name for excrement in general. These birds, after spending the whole day in catching their food in the sea, repair at night to rest on the islands near the coast […]”

   “The fish consumed by the guanoes, (as the fishing birds are called) are anchovies, the shoals of which are beyond all comparison.”

verb

1. (transitive)To fertilize (land) with guano.