CANARY • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Canary

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/kənˈɛri/ Listen

noun

Canary n. (pl. canaries)

1.

Wine made in the Canary Islands; sack. "A cup of canary."

2.

A canary bird.

3.

A pale yellow color, like that of a canary bird.

4.

A quick and lively dance. (Obs.) "Make you dance canary With sprightly fire and motion."

verb

Canary v. i. To perform the canary dance; to move nimbly; to caper. (Obs.) "But to jig of a tune at the tongue's end, canary to it with your feet."

adjective

Canary adj.

1.

Of or pertaining to the Canary Islands; as, canary wine; canary birds.

2.

Of a pale yellowish color; as, Canary stone.

Canary grass, a grass of the genus Phalaris (Phalaris Canariensis), producing the seed used as food for canary birds.

Canary stone (Min.), a yellow species of carnelian, named from its resemblance in color to the plumage of the canary bird.

Canary wood, the beautiful wood of the trees Persea Indica and Persea Canariensis, natives of Madeira and the Canary Islands.

Canary vine. See Canary bird flower, under Canary bird.

See images of 'Canary'

Etymology of 'Canary'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Canary" Quotes from Famous Books

... They supped in a room opening into a sort of wing; beyond it was a small kitchen, from which an elderly woman brought the dishes, and where that girl whom he heard singing kept trilling away as if she were excited, like a canary, by the sound of ...

— The Quality of Mercy • W. D. Howells

... poor. She had chosen Japan because it was "so pretty and poetical." She had worked her way across the Pacific as stewardess on a large steamer, and had landed in Hijiyama a few months before with enough cash to keep a canary bird in delicate health for a month. Her enthusiasm was high, her zeal blazed. If only her faith were strong enough to stand the test, her need for food and clothing would be supplied from somewhere. "Now," she moaned, ...

— The House of the Misty Star - A Romance of Youth and Hope and Love in Old Japan • Fannie Caldwell Macaulay

... times waur—I wad whiles come upon her greitin' and repentin', and haudin' oot her han' to me, and me carin' no more for her than for the beard o' a barley-stalk. And for makin' a sang—I jist steikit my lugs (stopped my ears) whan I heard a puir misguidit canary singin' i' the sunshine. And I begud to hear a laich lauch far awa', and it cam' nearer and nearer ilka week, till it was ringin' i' my verra lug. But a' that was naething compairateevely. I' the mids o' a quaiet contemplation, suddenly, wi' an awfu' stoon, a ghaistly doobt pat it's heid up i' ...

— Alec Forbes of Howglen • George MacDonald

... difficulty with this bird when kept in captivity, as it frequently develops jaundice, in which case it can only be sold under the name of "Canary," at ...

— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 156, June 4, 1919. • Various

... gentleman—an artist—who wanted to paint me in one of his pictures. Emile did not like me to go to his atelier so often; and the gentleman gave me a shawl (such a pretty shawl!) and a canary in a lovely green and gold ...

— In the Days of My Youth • Amelia Ann Blandford Edwards

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