| / English Dictionary |
CANARY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Any of several small Old World finches
Synonyms:
canary; canary bird
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("canary" is a kind of...):
finch (any of numerous small songbirds with short stout bills adapted for crushing seeds)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "canary"):
common canary; Serinus canaria (native to the Canary Islands and Azores; popular usually yellow cage bird noted for its song)
Holonyms ("canary" is a member of...):
genus Serinus; Serinus (Old World finches; e.g. canaries and serins)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A moderate yellow with a greenish tinge
Synonyms:
canary; canary yellow
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("canary" is a kind of...):
yellow; yellowness (yellow color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of sunflowers or ripe lemons)
Derivation:
canary (having the color of a canary; of a light to moderate yellow)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A female singer
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("canary" is a kind of...):
singer; vocaliser; vocalist; vocalizer (a person who sings)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Someone acting as an informer or decoy for the police
Synonyms:
canary; fink; sneak; sneaker; snitch; snitcher; stool pigeon; stoolie; stoolpigeon
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("canary" is a kind of...):
betrayer; blabber; informer; rat; squealer (one who reveals confidential information in return for money)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Having the color of a canary; of a light to moderate yellow
Synonyms:
canary; canary-yellow
Classified under:
Similar:
chromatic (being or having or characterized by hue)
Derivation:
canary (a moderate yellow with a greenish tinge)
Context examples:
As I laid down my pen, a moment since, to think of it, the air from the sea came blowing in again, mixed with the perfume of the flowers; and I saw the old-fashioned furniture brightly rubbed and polished, my aunt's inviolable chair and table by the round green fan in the bow-window, the drugget-covered carpet, the cat, the kettle-holder, the two canaries, the old china, the punchbowl full of dried rose-leaves, the tall press guarding all sorts of bottles and pots, and, wonderfully out of keeping with the rest, my dusty self upon the sofa, taking note of everything.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
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