canorous
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of canorous
1640–50; < Latin canōrus, equivalent to canōr- (stem of canor song, equivalent to can ( ere ) to sing + -or -or 1 ) + -us -ous
Explanation
Canorous describes something melodious and pleasing to the ear, like a beautiful piece of music or the sound of birds singing. The word canorous comes from the Latin word canor, which means "melody" or "song." It may be used to describe sounds that are musical and harmonious, pleasant to listen to, like a song. One might use the word canorous to describe a choir's performance; the peaceful and relaxing sound of a flowing river; or the cheerful chirping of songbirds in the morning. Someone might even describe the words of a poem or the sound of laughter as canorous.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A whisp of a canorous clarinet or a rumbling rattle is all it takes for a kind of instant transport to a far-off time and place.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2025
Some are graceful and smooth, however, and are canorous though never sonorous.
From Sabbath in Puritan New England by Earle, Alice Morse
She would solicit thus, canorous of phrase, a fan of her cardboard likenesses held out, invitational.
From Humoresque A Laugh on Life with a Tear Behind It by Hurst, Fannie
There had been reading and praising of odes and sonnets the whole blessed afternoon, and now he cried out to the complaisant, canorous company, "Behold Arcadia revived in us!"
From Modern Italian Poets Essays and Versions by Howells, William Dean
In a twinkling his rifle was at his shoulder, and through the wild canorous note of the wind, Stane caught his hail.
From A Mating in the Wilds by Binns, Ottwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
