Meanings
plural tanagers
- Any of numerous species of often colorful passerine birds that inhabit New World forests within the family Thraupidae.
I’m remembering that time when there was a mourning warbler on that chip path 15 years ago and I remember the scarlet tanagers last week. That’s what I think about when I’m in the park.
2023 June 19, Morgan Jerkins, quoting Christian Cooper, “‘She doesn’t have the power’: Central Park birdwatcher Christian Cooper on why racist ‘incident’ won’t define him”, in The Guardian, →ISSN1 more example
Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.
1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “Afterglow”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 168
Origin
- Old Tupitangará
- Portuguesetangará
- translingualTanagra
- Englishtanager
From translingual Tanagra, from Portuguese tangará, from Old Tupi tangará.
More words from translingual, Portuguese, Old Tupi
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan tàngara
- tàngaraAmerican passerine birds
Finnish tangara
- tangaraAmerican passerine birds
German Tangare
- TangareAmerican passerine birds
Japanese 風琴鳥
- 風琴鳥 (fuukin-chou)American passerine birds
Korean 풍금조
- 풍금조 (punggeumjo)American passerine birds
Portuguese saíra, saí
- saíraAmerican passerine birds
- saíAmerican passerine birds
Russian танагровые
- танагровые (tanagrovyje)American passerine birds
Spanish tángara
- tángaraAmerican passerine birds
Welsh tanagr
- tanagrAmerican passerine birds
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
tanager. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tanager
“tanager.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tanager. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tanager,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tanager.
Source: tanager on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.