canary islands
/kəˈnɛəɹi ˌaɪləndz/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.40 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
An archipelago and autonomous community of Spain, off the coast of northwestern Africa, near Morocco.
noun
plural of Canary Island (“an island of the Canary Islands”)
Etymology
Partial calque of Spanish Islas Canarias, itself likely a partial calque, with the plural of isla (“island”), of Latin Canāriae Īnsulae (literally “Islands of the Dogs”), from the feminine plural of canārius (“of or pertaining to dogs”) + the plural of īnsula f (“island”). Perhaps so named because monk seals or sea dogs were abundant, a name that was evidently generalized from the ancient name of one of these islands, Canaria – presumably Gran Canaria. According to the historian Pliny the Elder, the island Canaria contained “vast multitudes of dogs of very large size”. The connection to dogs is retained in the autonomous community’s coat of arms, which is also included in its flag. The canary was named after the islands, not vice versa.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: Canāriae Īnsulae
Inflected Forms
the Canary Islands (canonical, plural)
Canary Island (attributive)