canary

(kə-nâr'ē)

1. A small finch (Serinus canaria) native to the Canary Islands that is greenish to yellow and has long been bred as a cage bird.
2. Slang.
   1. A woman singer.
   2. An informer; a stool pigeon.
3. A sweet white wine from the Canary Islands, similar to Madeira.
4. A light to moderate or vivid yellow.

[French canari, from Spanish canario, of the Canary Islands, from (Islas) Canarias, Canary (Islands), from Late Latin Canāriae (Īnsulae), (islands) of dogs, from Latin canārius, pertaining to dogs, canine, from canis, dog.]

View more Animal Life videos

(click to enlarge)
Canary (Serinus canaria). (credit: Eric Hosking)

Popular cage bird (Serinus canaria; in the finch family, Fringillidae) that owes its coloration and sustained vocal powers to 400 years of selective breeding. Varieties called rollers trill almost continuously; choppers have a loud trill of distinct notes. Well-known breeds include Hartz Mountain, Norwich, and Yorkshire. The average life span of a caged canary is 10 – 15 years. The canary is native to the Canary, Azores, and Madeira islands. The wild form is streak-backed and mostly greenish brown.

For more information on canary, visit Britannica.com.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

• Passerine songbirds
• Dances of the World - canary: lively European court dance (16th c.)
• Yellow
• Police Procedures and Detection - canary: Slang. person confessing a crime or offering information to police

Look up canary in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Canary may refer to:

• Atlantic Canary (Serinus canaria), a small wild bird
• Domestic Canary, a small pet or aviary bird
• Canary (film), a 2009 independent film
• Canary (anime)
• The Canary (short story), a 1923 short story by Katherine Mansfield
• The Canary (magazine), a literary magazine
• Canary, County Armagh, see List of townlands in County Armagh
• The Canaries, players for or supporters of Norwich City F.C.
• Canary, a game by Nitrome Limited
• Kedah FA, a Malaysian professional football association team nicknamed "the Canaries"

See also

• Serinus, a genus of finches
• Canary Islands, Spain
• El Canario or José Alberto, Dominican salsa singer
• Canary Wharf, a place in London, United Kingdom
• Canary melon, a yellow fruit
• Canary value, a buffer overflow protection method in computer programming
• Canary wood (disambiguation), a name used to describe wood from a number of tree species
• Canary yellow, a shade of Yellow
• The Canaries (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - kanariefugl, refrænsangerinde, [sl] stikker

idioms:

• canary yellow    kanariegul

n. - Canariske Øer

Nederlands (Dutch)
kanarie, kanariewijn, lof, informant, zangeres, jonge vrouw

Français (French)
n. - canari

idioms:

• canary yellow    jaune canari

Deutsch (German)
n. - Kanarienvogel

idioms:

• canary yellow    Kanariengelb

n. - Kanarische Inseln, Kanaren

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - καναρίνι

idioms:

• canary yellow    καναρινί, καναρινής

Italiano (Italian)
canarino

idioms:

• canary yellow    giallo canarino

Português (Portuguese)
n. - canário (m), delator (m) (gír.)

idioms:

• canary yellow    amarelo (m) canário

Русский (Russian)
канарейка

idioms:

• canary yellow    канареечный цвет

Español (Spanish)
n. - canario

idioms:

• canary yellow    amarillo canario, amarillo patito

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - kanariefågel, tjallare (sl.), sopran, vokalist

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
金丝雀, 加那利葡萄酒, 淡黄色, 加那利舞

idioms:

• canary yellow    淡黄色, 鲜黄色

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 金絲雀, 加那利葡萄酒, 淡黃色, 加那利舞

idioms:

• canary yellow    淡黃色, 鮮黃色

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 카나리아, 카나리아 제도 산 포도주, 밀고자

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - カナリア, カナリア色

idioms:

• canary yellow    カナリヤ色

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) طائر حسن الصوت‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮ציפור-שיר, זמרת, יין לבן מתוק, צהוב-בהיר‬
n. - ‮האיים הקנאריים‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.