canary
/kəˈnɛəɹi/ noun B1- A small, usually yellow, finch (genus Serinus), a songbird native to the Canary Islands.
- Any of various small birds of different countries, most of which are largely yellow in colour.
- A female singer, soprano, a coloratura singer.
- An informer or snitch; a squealer.
- A light, slightly greenish, yellow colour.
- A (usually yellow) capsule of the short-acting barbiturate pentobarbital/pentobarbitone (nembutal).
- Any test subject, especially an inadvertent or unwilling one. (From the mining practice of using canaries to detect dangerous gases.)
- A value placed in memory such that it will be the first data corrupted by a buffer overflow, allowing the program to identify and recover from it.
Plural canaries
From the library
Some of the birds hurried off at once: one old Magpie began wrapping itself up very carefully, remarking, “I really must be getting home; the night-air doesn’t suit my throat!” and a Canary called out in a trembling voice to its children, “Come away, my dears!
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