CANARY

canary, canary-yellow

(adjective) having the color of a canary; of a light to moderate yellow

canary, canary bird

(noun) any of several small Old World finches

canary

(noun) a female singer

fink, snitch, snitcher, stoolpigeon, stool pigeon, stoolie, sneak, sneaker, canary

(noun) someone acting as an informer or decoy for the police

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

canary (countable and uncountable, plural canaries)

A small, usually yellow, finch (genus Serinus), a songbird native to the Canary Islands.

Any of various small birds of different countries, most of which are largely yellow in colour.

A light, slightly greenish, yellow colour.

(countable, uncountable) A light, sweet, white wine from the Canary Islands.

A lively dance, possibly of Spanish origin (also called canaries).

Any test subject, especially an inadvertent or unwilling one. (From the mining practice of using canaries to detect dangerous gases.)

(computing) A value placed in memory such that it will be the first data corrupted by a buffer overflow, allowing the program to identify and recover from it.

(informal) A female singer, soprano, a coloratura singer.

(slang) An informer or snitch; a squealer.

(slang) A (usually yellow) capsule of the short-acting barbiturate pentobarbital/pentobarbitone (Nembutal).

(Australia, informal) A yellow sticker of unroadworthiness.

Synonyms

• (informant): See Thesaurus:informant

Hyponyms

• Serinus canaria, Serinus pusillus, Serinus serinus

Adjective

canary (comparative more canary, superlative most canary)

Of a light yellow colour.

Verb

canary (third-person singular simple present canaries, present participle canarying, simple past and past participle canaried)

(intransitive) to dance nimbly (as in the canary dance)

(slang) to inform or snitch, to betray secrets, especially about illegal activities.

Synonyms

• (to inform): See Thesaurus:rat out

Etymology 1

From 1907, coined by the football club's then-chairman who was a keen breeder of canaries.

Noun

Canary (plural Canaries)

(soccer) Someone connected with Norwich City Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.

Etymology 2

Adjective

Canary (not comparable)

(finance, of an option) That can be exercised on quarterly dates, a set time period (usually one year) after the issue date, and before the expiry date.

Coordinate terms

• American, Bermudan, European, Verde

Source: Wiktionary

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Ca*na"ry, a. Etym: [F. Canarie, L. Canaria insula one of the Canary islands, said to be so called from its large dogs, fr. canis dog.]

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 (P. 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 P. Canariensis, natives of Madeira and the Canary Islands.

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

Ca*na"ry, n.; pl. Canaries.

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

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. Shak.

Ca*na"ry, v. i.

Definition: 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. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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