canvasback

[ kan-vuhs-bak ]

/ ˈkæn vəsˌbæk /

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noun, plural can·vas·backs, (especially collectively) can·vas·back.

a North American wild duck, Aythya valisineria, the male of which has a whitish back and a reddish-brown head and neck.

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Origin of canvasback

An Americanism dating back to 1595–1605; after the canvaslike color of its back

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use canvasback in a sentence

It was as follows: When the canvas-back descends, he must perforce remain some moments under water.
The Hunters' Feast|Mayne Reid
Those who would buy a real canvas-back should know something of natural history.
The Hunters' Feast|Mayne Reid
The reed-bird—in the West Indies called “ortolan”—is also found in the same markets with the canvas-back.
The Hunters' Feast|Mayne Reid
When he got the canvas back he destroyed it, all but the portraits of Whistler, Vollon, and himself.
The Life of James McNeill Whistler|Elizabeth Robins Pennell

When he shoved the canvas back I could see it all twisted up an' dead white, with a big red scar on the corner o' the shoulder.
The Blind Lion of the Congo|Elliott Whitney

British Dictionary definitions for canvasback

canvasback

/ (ˈkænvəsˌbæk) /

noun plural -backs or -back

a North American diving duck, Aythyra valisineria, the male of which has a white body and reddish-brown head

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012