Etymologically
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cane

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Pronunciation

Forms

cane m (plural cani, feminine cagna, diminutive canìno m or canìna f or cagnétto m or cagnétta f or cagnettìno m or cagnettìna f, augmentative cagnóne, pejorative cagnàccio, endearing cagnolìno)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin canis (“dog”), from the accusative ⟨canem⟩.[2][3][4][1] The word is panromance: French chien, Occitan ca, Catalan ca (in Majorca), Old Spanish can, Portuguese cão, Sardinian cane, Romanian câine and Dalmatian kuon;[3][5][6][7] in Spanish it was replaced by perro, a pre-Latin word.[3][5][6][7]

The Latin noun continues the Indo-European word for “dog”, Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ, also found in Ancient Greek κύων (kúōn), Sanskrit श्वन् (śván), Armenian շուն (šun), Lithuanian šuo, Old Irish cú and Old High German hunt, whence German Hund and English hound.[3][1][8][9] Its vowel ⟨a⟩ is unexpected beside all these forms; among the explanations proposed, Nocentini finds association with catulus (“puppy”) one of the more plausible.[3][1] Nocentini suggests that the Indo-European word may itself be a noun made from an imitation of barking.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur super natura feminarum, where a murderous woman's body is eaten “cani, corvi e serpenti” (by dogs, crows and snakes).[10][11] DELI's first record is the Florentine poet Monte Andrea, in the 13th century.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

From early on the dog stood for baseness: Old Italian used cane for a sinner or a vile person, and especially for Jews and Muslims, as in Petrarch's “'l sepolcro di Cristo è in man di cani” (the Sepulchre of Christ is in the hands of dogs).[10][4] An actor, singer or writer without talent has been a cane since Vincenzo Monti (1786).[2] The hammer of a firearm is called cane from Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger (1618), after its shape;[2][6] French chien and German Hahn “cock” are similar names.[2][6] Old Italian also used Cane for two constellations and for the star Sirius.[10]

Cane lupo renders French chien-loup (1775), itself a calque of English wolf-dog;[2] dente canino and rosa canina are calques of Greek compounds.[2] In colloquial Italian the word works as an invariable intensifying adjective, as in fa un freddo cane “it's bitterly cold”, and in negative sentences it means “nobody”.[4][12]

Timeline

  • 13th century – Monte Andrea uses cane.[2]
  • 14th century – Canino is used in mosca canina and rosa canina.[2]
  • 1618 – Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger uses it for the hammer of a gun.[2]
  • 1786 – Vincenzo Monti uses it for an incompetent performer.[2]
  • 1825 – Canizza “the barking of many dogs” is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A dog: Ogni mattina porto fuori il cane prima di colazione.[4][13][12]
  2. (zoology) Any animal of the genus Canis, which includes the wolf, the coyote and the jackal.[4][13]
  3. (figurative, derogatory) A cruel or contemptible person; also as an insult.[4][12]
  4. (figurative) An incompetent performer or professional: Come attore è un cane.[4][12][2]
  5. The hammer of a firearm.[12][1][2]
  6. (in negative sentences) Nobody: Alla festa non c'era un cane.[4][14]
  7. (astronomy, capitalised) The name of constellations such as the Cane Maggiore and Cane Minore.[12][10]

Adjective

  1. (colloquial, invariable) Intense, terrible: un freddo cane, una fame cane.[4][12][1]

Word family

  • canile
  • canino
  • canaglia
  • cagnolino
  • cagnesco
  • cagnara
  • canea
  • canizza
  • accanirsi
  • accanito
  • pescecane

Usage notes

The feminine is cagna.[1][13] Proverbs and set phrases include can che abbaia non morde “barking dogs seldom bite”, menare il can per l'aia “to beat about the bush”, essere come cane e gatto “to fight like cat and dog” and tempo da cani “foul weather”.[15][13][14] An unrelated cane is the old Italian form of khan, as in Marco Polo's Gran Cane, from the Turkic title; another, from Persian, meant a caravanserai.[11][10][13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  6. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 717
  7. ^ a b Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  10. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  11. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  13. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  14. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  15. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana