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Glite Dictionary
Canary wine

Canary wine

9.3
A sweet white wine that comes from the Canary Islands
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : vino canario
  • He ordered a glass of Canary wine to go with his dessert.

Examples

  • In Shakespeare's time, Canary wine was considered one of the finest drinks at English banquets.

  • The merchant imported casks of Canary wine from the Spanish archipelago.

  • I love Canary wine!

  • This is Canary wine.

  • The guests enjoyed a glass of Canary wine while discussing art in the garden.

  • She brought a bottle of Canary wine to the dinner party to share with everyone.

  • After dinner, they celebrated with Canary wine, a favorite among the locals.

Synonyms

malmsey
vsCanary wine
9.9

A sweet wine from Madeira made from Malvasia grapes

is also sweet but comes from the Canary Islands rather than Madeira
Madeira
vsCanary wine
5.6

A strong sweet wine from the Madeira Islands often served with dessert

is a sweet white wine from the Canary Islands, not a fortified amber wine

How Sweet

dessert wine
1 3.7
Canary wine
  • Archaic
9.3

Surface Forms

Canary wine singular
Canary wines plural

Morphology

Canary + wine

The meaning 'a sweet white wine from the Canary Islands' follows a straightforward place-name + product composition: 'Canary' (adjectival/place reference) + 'wine' = wine from the Canaries. This pattern is cross-linguistically common and therefore a B1 learner who recognises 'Canary' as referring to the Canary Islands (rather than only the bird) will readily derive the meaning, although there is minor ambiguity for learners who only know 'canary' as an animal.

Etymology

Canary wine gets its name from the Canary Islands, where a 'sweet white wine' was made and sent to England long ago. So Canary wine now means a 'sweet white wine' that comes from the Canary Islands.