Etymologically
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canif

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 18:45. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ka.nif/[1]

Forms

canif m (plural canifs)[1] Quenif (1441), canif (1611, Cotgrave); the diminutive canivet is older (second half of the 12th century). Ménage recommended pronouncing ganif.[2][3][4][5]

Etymology

It is probably borrowed from Frankish *knif (“knife”), reconstructed from Old Norse knífr,[2][3][4][6][7][8] which gave late Old English cnīf and English knife.[2][3][5] Because of the age of the French words and the area where they are found, a Frankish source is preferred to a borrowing from Old English, Old Norse or Middle Dutch.[2] The diminutive canivet, “cnivet” “little knife” (about 1165, Chrétien de Troyes) is attested well before the simple word, and Catalan ganivet is from the same source.[2][4][1] Wiktionary also cites Middle English “knyf”.[1] The Germanic family is of obscure origin.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Canivet is found from the second half of the 12th century;[2][3] the simple word appears in 1441 as quenif.[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

For a long time a canif was a small blade with a handle for sharpening quill pens.[3][2][5] It now means a pocket knife with blades that fold into the handle, and in engraving (1752, knif, perhaps from English) a wood-engraver's tool.[3][9]

Donner des coups de canif dans le contrat (1794, Hébert's Père Duchesne), “to be unfaithful to one's spouse”, comes from the custom of cancelling a written deed by striking through it with a knife, according to Littré.[10][3][5]

Timeline

  • c. 1165 – Canivet (Chrétien de Troyes).[2]
  • 1441 – Quenif.[2][3]
  • 1611 – Canif (Cotgrave).[2][6]
  • 1694 – First recorded by the Académie.[2]
  • 1752 – A wood-engraver's tool.[3]
  • 1794 – Coups de canif dans le contrat (Hébert).[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A penknife, a pocket knife with folding blades.[9][1]
  2. (dated) A small blade for sharpening quills.[2][5]
  3. Donner un coup de canif dans le contrat: to be unfaithful to one's spouse.[9][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
  8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 337a
  9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)