Etymograph

English

canary

Canary comes from Spanish canario, from Canarias ‘the Canary Islands’, from Latin Īnsula Canāria ‘Dog Island’, and ultimately from Latin canis ‘dog’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanis1‘dog’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanārius1‘of dogs’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEĪnsula Canāria1‘Dog Island’
  4. Spanishc. 1500–presentCanarias1‘the Canary Islands’
  5. Spanishc. 1500–presentcanario1‘canary (bird); of the Canary Islands’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentcanarie1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1592canary1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English canary
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1592, Thomas Nashe, Pierce Penilesse His Supplication to the Deuill. […]: “In an other corner, Mistris Minx, a marchants wife,…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanisWiktionary, English canary‘dog’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanāriusWiktionary, English canary‘of dogs’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEĪnsula CanāriaWiktionary, English canary‘Dog Island’
  4. Spanishc. 1500–presentCanariasWiktionary, English canary‘the Canary Islands’
  5. Spanishc. 1500–presentcanarioWiktionary, English canary‘canary (bird); of the Canary Islands’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentcanarieWiktionary, English canary
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1592canaryWiktionary, English canary. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1592, Thomas Nashe, Pierce Penilesse His Supplication to the Deuill. […]: “In an other corner, Mistris Minx, a marchants wife,…”

Linked words

pairs

  • canary and kennel both from Latin canis ‘dog’

Every English word from Latin canis

Today it means

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

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “canary”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin canis / canary

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