Etymologically
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canal

Etymology and origin of the English word canal

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1449
Borrowed from
Middle French canal
Ultimate origin
Latin (canna)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kəˈnæl/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English, borrowed from Middle French canal (“water channel, pipe”),[2][3][4] from Latin canālis (“pipe, groove, channel”),[2][3][5] a noun use of an adjective from canna (“reed”) (see cane).[3][5] It is a doublet of channel.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A pipe for liquid: probably before 1425, in a translation of Chauliac's Grande Chirurgie, in Barnhart, about 1449 in the OED;[2][6] Etymonline has the anatomical sense, a passage in the body, from the early 15th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

A tubular cavity in the body or in plant tissue is from 1626 in the OED.[6] A watercourse or channel generally is from 1538, now obsolete,[6] and an ornamental strip of water in a garden from 1663–64.[6] The modern sense, an artificial waterway for navigation or irrigation, is first recorded in 1673.[2][3][6] The supposed canals of Mars are from 1888.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1449 – a pipe.[6]
  • 1626 – a duct in the body.[6]
  • 1663 – an ornamental canal.[6]
  • 1673 – an artificial waterway.[2][6]
  • 1888 – the canals of Mars.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An artificial waterway for boats or for irrigation.
  2. (anatomy) A tubular duct or passage in the body: the alimentary canal.

Word family

  • canaller
  • canalize
  • auditory canal
  • ear canal
  • Panama Canal
  • ship canal
  • Suez Canal
  • alimentary canal
  • channel
  • channelize
  • canalization
  • cane
  • cannon
  • kennel

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Canal.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/canal. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·