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canario

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word canario

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1272–1275 Alfonso X, General estoria More words from the 13th century
Ultimate origin
Latin canārius
From the same root
English canary ← canario

Pronunciation

  • /kaˈnaɾjo/, [kaˈna.ɾjo][1]

Forms

canario (feminine canaria, masculine plural canarios, feminine plural canarias)[1]

Etymology

It is from Spanish Canarias (“the Canary Islands”).[1][2] Wiktionary derives the island name from Latin canāria (“island of the dogs”), short for a phrase with the word for “island”, from canārius (“of dogs”).[1] Gómez de Silva likewise refers the name to can “dog” and the suffix -ario.[2]

The bird's name is the same word: it was called after the islands because it was brought from the Canaries in the 16th century.[3][4] The Spanish word went, through Catalan canari or Gascon, into French canari (1583, earlier canarin in 1576), and the names of the bird in the other European languages have the same origin.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest sense in the DHLE, dated from 1275 to 1800, is a people of Africa living near the Atlas, in Mauritania.[5] Alfonso X's General estoria (1272–1275) tells of peoples a que llamauan los canarios, who lived in mountains near a land of elephants and wild beasts.[6] The sense “native of the Canary Islands” follows in 1412, and of Gran Canaria in 1479, in a letter about the conquest of la Grand Canaria against los canarios ynfieles.[5][7]

Semantic evolution

The DHLE dates the bird from 1520, and the dance from 1554.[5] Corominas had the bird first in Fray Luis de Granada (1582–1585).[3][4] The Diccionario de Autoridades describes it as a small singing bird named after the islands, from where it first came to Spain, and the dance as one brought to Spain by the islanders, as Covarrubias had said.[8] In thieves' cant from 1605 a canario was a prisoner who confessed under torture, as in Cervantes's va por canario “he goes as a singer”.[5][9]

From the bird came the colour: amarillo canario is a very bright yellow, recorded from 1797.[5][10] The word also names Canarian Spanish (from 1907) and, in Uruguay, a native of Canelones and in general a countryman.[5][11] In Chile a canario is a water whistle that imitates birdsong, and, among waiters, a customer who leaves good tips.[10][11]

Timeline

  • 1272–1275 – Alfonso X's General estoria names an African people los canarios.[6][5]
  • 1412 – the first record for a native of the Canary Islands.[5]
  • 1479 – a letter on the conquest of Gran Canaria speaks of los canarios ynfieles.[7]
  • 1520 – the first record of the bird.[5]
  • 1554 – the first record of the dance.[5]
  • 1582–1585 – Fray Luis de Granada, the bird's first record in Corominas.[3][4]
  • 1605 – Cervantes uses canario in thieves' cant for a prisoner who confesses.[5][9]
  • 1609 – the Inca Garcilaso tells that a canary brought to Peru in 1556 was much admired for its song.[12]
  • 1715 – the euphemistic interjection ¡canario! appears in a comedy by Cañizares.[5]
  • 1729 – the Diccionario de Autoridades has the bird and the dance.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or from the Canary Islands (Canarias). Also used as a noun for a native of them: Mi abuela era canaria.[10][1]
  2. (Uruguay) Of or from Canelones, also as a noun.[10]
  3. Of the Canarian variety of Spanish: acento canario.[10]
  4. Of a yellow: very bright, as in amarillo canario.[10][5]

Noun

  1. A canary: a small songbird native to the Canary Islands, with yellow, greenish or whitish plumage, much kept for its song.[10][1]
  2. The Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands.[10]
  3. (botany) The same as gayomba, a broom (Spartium junceum).[13][10]
  4. An old dance from the Canary Islands, in triple time with lively stamping, and its music.[10][8]
  5. (Chile) A clay whistle filled with water that imitates the warbling of birds.[10]
  • canariense
  • Canarias
  • French canari

Usage notes

¡Canario! is a rare euphemistic interjection of surprise or annoyance.[10] The DHLE dates it from 1715 and, after Rodríguez Castelo, explains it as a replacement of carajo by the similar-sounding canario.[5] In the Canaries canario also has the narrower sense “native of Gran Canaria”.[14][15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 141
  3. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 795
  4. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. canario
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Real Academia Española (2013–), Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (DHLE), https://www.rae.es/dhle, p. s.v. canario
  6. ^ a b Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. canario
  7. ^ a b Real Academia Española (2021–), Tesoro de los diccionarios históricos de la lengua española (TDHLE): Diccionario histórico (1933–1936), its unpublished slips, Diccionario histórico (1960–1996), DHECan, DHECR, DHEVen, https://www.rae.es/tdhle, p. s.v. canario
  8. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 2, 106
  9. ^ a b Cejador y Frauca, Julio (1905–1906), La lengua de Cervantes: gramática y diccionario de la lengua castellana en El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, 2 vols., Madrid: Jaime Ratés, p. 237
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. canario
  11. ^ a b Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. canario
  12. ^ Grupo IATEXT, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, AMERLEX: corpus of americanisms in early texts on the Americas (online database)
  13. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. canario
  14. ^ Maffiotte, Luis (1993), Los canarismos (manuscript c. 1887), ed. Lothar Siemens Hernández, Las Palmas: Instituto de Estudios Canarios, p. 49
  15. ^ Academia Canaria de la Lengua (2010), Diccionario básico de canarismos, Santa Cruz de Tenerife; online at https://www.academiacanarialengua.org, p. s.v. canario

Descendants

Cite this entry

“Canario.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/canario. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·