What animal were the ‘Canary Islands’ named after?

star_gazer

Dogs. The symbol of the Canary Islands is very interesting. The ribbon says "Oceano" because they are islands located in the Atlantic Ocean. The Crown is because they are a part of Spain, which is has a king. The 7 symbols on the shield represent the 7 main islands. But what about the dogs? People think that the Canary Islands get their name from the birds canaries. But actually the canary bird received is named after the people the Canarii. All breeds of canary birds descend from the canary birds thatstill exist on the island. So why are there two dogs and not two canaries? When the Romans came to the Canary Islands they encounted not only fierce natives, but also their dogs. The latin word for dog is "canis" and the actually named one of the islands "canaria" because of these dogs. Because the people are proud of these dogs they included them in their symbol. Today we still use the word "canine" as a general term for a dog. http://www.ctspanish.com/communities/canarym/canary%20islands.htm Nov 25 09, 2:18 AM

Datsmeharse

See #10639 and #19508 Nov 25 09, 9:17 PM