tanager

[ tan-uh-jer ]

/ ˈtæn ə dʒər /

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noun

Also called true tanager . any of numerous small New World songbirds of the family Thraupidae (tanager family), the males of which are usually brightly colored, including the multicolored green-headed tanager , Tangara seledon, of South America.

cardinal (def. 3).

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Origin of tanager

First recorded in 1605–15; from New Latin tanagra, metathetic variant of Tupi tangara

Words nearby tanager

Tamworth, tan, tan-1, tana, Tanach, tanager, Tanagra, Tanagra figurine, tanagrine, Tanaina, Tanaka

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

How to use tanager in a sentence

The tanager was always a very shy bird; he did not like to be looked at.
In Nesting Time|Olive Thorne Miller
I waited only for warm days to set free the tanager, and at last they came.
In Nesting Time|Olive Thorne Miller
Dense foliage no more conceals the male bird's brilliant coat than it can the tanager's or oriole's.
Bird Neighbors|Neltje Blanchan
At the time I did not notice the singularity of his remark, my attention being absorbed in contemplating the unfortunate tanager.
The Moon Metal|Garrett P. Serviss

This rarely beautiful tanager, thanks to them, is now only an infrequent flash of beauty in our country roads.
Bird Neighbors|Neltje Blanchan

British Dictionary definitions for tanager

tanager

/ (ˈtænədʒə) /

noun

any American songbird of the family Thraupidae, having a short thick bill and a brilliantly coloured male plumage

Word Origin for tanager

C19: from New Latin tanagra, based on Tupi tangara

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