canary

C2+ Topic:Animals

US /kəˈnɛri/ UK /kəˈnɛəri/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a small yellow songbird often kept as a pet

The canary sang brightly from its cage by the window.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a small yellow songbird... finch songbird

Word family

Forms canaries

Appears in

Idioms (1)

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Simplified etymology

Canary, originally canary bird, was named in the mid-16th century after the Canary Islands, where the ancestors of domesticated canaries originated. The islands’ name comes from Latin canaria insula, “island of dogs,” based on canis, “dog.”

Etymology

From French canarie, from Spanish canario, from the Canary Islands (Islas Canarias) where the bird originated; the islands' name is from Latin Canāria Īnsula ('island of dogs'), from canis ('dog').

canāria Latin canis Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Animals Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# canary

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /kəˈnɛri/
**IPA (UK):** /kəˈnɛəri/

## Meanings
1. a small yellow songbird often kept as a pet

## Examples
- The canary sang brightly from its cage by the window.

## Synonyms
- finch
- songbird

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: canāria
- Root: canis

## Etymology
From French canarie, from Spanish canario, from the Canary Islands (Islas Canarias) where the bird originated; the islands' name is from Latin Canāria Īnsula ('island of dogs'), from canis ('dog').

## AI Etymology
Canary is a noun meaning "a small yellow songbird often kept as a pet". Historically, it is from French canarie, from Spanish canario, from the Canary Islands (Islas Canarias) where the bird originated; the islands' name is from Latin Canāria Īnsula ('island of dogs'), from canis ('dog'). The historical chain links Latin canāria with Latin canis. This keeps the modern noun sense tied to the older forms and language sequence behind it.

## Topics
- Animals
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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