Meanings
plural greenfinches
- Any bird within the genus Chloris (formerly a subset of the genus Carduelis), small passerine songbirds with yellow-green plumage, found throughout Eurasia.
The Vietnamese Greenfinch is the only greenfinch found in the Da Lat area, and as such is unmistakeable.
2016 July 14, Peter Davidson, Birds of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 135Synonyms: green bird
- European greenfinch, a common Old World finch (Chloris chloris, syn. Carduelis chloris,Fringilla Chloris),mainly green with yellow in the wings and tail.
Synonyms: green bird
- Northern IrelandhistoricalinformalA female member of the Ulster Defence Regiment.
- Northern IrelandUKbroadlyhistoricalinformalslanggovernmentA female member of the Royal Irish Regiment.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAny bird within the genus Chloris (formerly a subset of the genus Carduelis), small passerine songbirds with yellow-green plumage, found throughout Eurasia.
nounEuropean greenfinch, a common Old World finch (Chloris chloris, syn. Carduelis chloris,Fringilla Chloris),mainly green with yellow in the wings and tail.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*gʰreh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*gróh₁nis
- Proto-Germanic*grōniz
- Proto-West Germanic*grōnī
- Old Englishgrēne
- Middle Englishgrene
- Englishgreen
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)ping-
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)píngis
- Proto-Germanic*finkiz
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)ping-
- Proto-Germanic*finkô
- Old Englishfinċ
- Middle Englishfynch
- Englishfinch
- Englishgreenfinch
Compound of green + finch. Cognate with Alemannic German Grüefink, Dutch groenvink, German Grünfink, Icelandic grænfinka, North Frisian greenfink, Norwegian Bokmål grønnfink, Norwegian Nynorsk grønfink, Swedish grönfink, and West Frisian grienfink.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek χλωρίς
- χλωρίς (khlōrís)genus Chloris
Bulgarian зеленика
- зеленика (zelenika)genus Chloris
Catalan verdum
- verdumgenus Chloris
Chinese Mandarin 金翅雀屬 /金翅雀属
- 金翅雀屬 /金翅雀属 (jīnchìquèshǔ)genus Chloris
Czech zvonek
- zvonekgenus Chloris
Danish grønirisk
- grøniriskgenus Chloris
Dutch groenling
- groenlinggenus Chloris
Finnish viherpeippo
- viherpeippogenus Chloris
French verdier
- verdiergenus Chloris
German Grünfink, Grünling
- Grünfinkgenus Chloris
- Grünlinggenus Chloris
Greek φλώρος
- φλώρος (flóros)genus Chloris
Hungarian zöldike
- zöldikegenus Chloris
Icelandic grænfinka
- grænfinkagenus Chloris
Irish glasán darach
- glasán darachgenus Chloris
Italian verdone comune, verdone
- verdone comunegenus Chloris
- verdonegenus Chloris
- verdellogenus Chloris
Latvian zaļžubīte
- zaļžubītegenus Chloris
Lithuanian žaliukė
- žaliukėgenus Chloris
Norwegian Bokmål grønnfink
- grønnfinkgenus Chloris
Polish dzwoniec
- dzwoniecgenus Chloris
Portuguese verdilhão
- verdilhãogenus Chloris
Romanian florinte
- florintegenus Chloris
Russian зелену́шка
- зелену́шка (zelenúška)genus Chloris
Scottish Gaelic corcan glas, glaisean-daraich
- corcan glasgenus Chloris
- glaisean-daraichgenus Chloris
Spanish verderón
- verderóngenus Chloris
Swedish grönfink
- grönfinkgenus Chloris
Turkish florya, yelve
- floryagenus Chloris
- yelvegenus Chloris
Welsh llinos werdd, gwyrddbinc
- llinos werddgenus Chloris
- gwyrddbincgenus Chloris
Cite this entry
greenfinch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/greenfinch
“greenfinch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/greenfinch. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “greenfinch,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/greenfinch.
Source: greenfinch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.